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The Little Lead Soldier 


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Translator’s Note 

/ 

Anna Franclii was born at Leghorn in 1867. Her 
first literary work., ^’‘Per Amorefi is a drama which 
was published with great success in 1896 by The Domi- 
nici Company at Leghorn. Other well-known books 
are '"^Dulcia Tristia ” and ^^Arte ed Artiste Toscanil'* 
Her storyy “/ Viaggi dlun Soldatino di Piomhofi 
which is presented here for the first time in English^ 
has had a wide success among young people hi Italy. 
The author resides at present in Milan., and is a mem- 
ber of the Association of Journalists of that city. 


S. F. Woodruff. 



\ 


CONTENTS 


I. 

Uncle Benedict’s Present 


9 

II. 

Tamburino's First Adventure 


17 

III. 

Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 


25 

IV. 

At the North Pole 


39 

V. 

A New Master 


53 

VI. 

The Dangers of Iceland 


65 

VII. 

From North to South 


73 

VIII. 

At Queen Pomare’s Court 


85 

IX. 

In China 


95 

X. 

In the Chinese Court 


109 

XL 

On the Way to Persia . 


117 

XII. 

Tamburino Falls Into Bad Hands 


125 

XIII. 

At the Bottom of the Sea 


129 

XIV. 

Treachery 


H 3 

XV. 

The False Pearl .... 


151 

XVI. 

Among the Robbers .... 


161 

XVII. 

Tamburino is Worshipped as a God 


169 

XVIII. 

The Desert on the Way to Algiers 


177 

XIX. 

The Conclusion .... 


183 


5 



ILLUSTRATIONS 


“Where ami?" ■ . . . . 

Uncle Benedict’s present .... 
“ No, thanks, you may keep it” 

“ He’ll amuse you ” .... 

Altogether a good-looking soldier 
There were a dozen like me . . 

“ You shall go with me ” 

The ship on which we sailed 
When I fell out they all cheered 
In an ocean full of ice . 

Some of the animals fled .... 
He held me in his hand .... 
A regular tussle resulted .... 

I found I could move .... 

I was too late 

From one orange to another 

On a pile of cushions .... 

“You and my dove shall always follow me ” 

I was left forgotten 

Dragged furiously through the water . 

A mound of oysters ..... 
They dined most joyously 

He found the pearl 

He was immensely careful of me 
This time they heard distinctly . 

The great desert 

A long line of camels .... 


PAGE 

Frontispiece^' 

1 1 

13^ 

16 
20 
27 ' 

35^ 
41^ 

43 '-' 
56^ 
58^ 

67 - 

82"-^ 

87 

88- ^ 
92 

99 ^ 

1 13 " 

122 
128 '^ 

135^^ 

148 

154 

1 64 

171 

174 

i79i^' 


7 





THE 

LITTLE LEAD SOLDIER 


I. 



Uncle Benedict’s Present 


THE LITTLE LEAD 
SOLDIER 



CHAPTER I 

UNCLE BENEDICT’S PRESENT 

W ITH the sun pouring into their little rooms 
Nino and Lena eagerly jumped out of bed 
on Christmas morning expecting their usual present 
from Uncle Benedict, Captain of Marines. It came by 
the first mail. 

There it was. The little parcel was addressed in the 
same large straight writing as the letter. 

“ What can it be ? ” said Lena, a slight little girl 
about eleven years old. 


II 


The Little Lead Soldier 


“ Something pretty small," answered Nino, a lively, 
mischievous little fellow about two years older. “ Let’s 
look. No, let’s read the letter." 

“ Let’s look first ; we can read the letter later." 

Not being able to wait any longer they broke the 
blue ribbon that tied the package and both snatched 
it at the same time. Nino had got the ribbon into a 
hard knot and Lena tried to untie it. 

“ Disagreeable thing ! " 

“ Clumsy 1 ’’ 

" You’re the clumsy one. Here, give it to me, I can 
untie it. Men never know how to do anything.” 

“ And girls are all as silly as you." 

“ If you don’t keep still I shall call Mama." 

“ You needn’t bother, I’ll call her myself." 

And just then the box fell on the floor and out 
rolled a little soldier. 

“Ugh I what a beautiful present." 

“ Is that all that Uncle has sent us for Christmas ? ’’ 
“ A little lead soldier ! " 

“ And so ugly I " 

“Oldl" 


Dirty I " 


12 


Uncle Benedict’s Present 



“ Battered ! ” 

“ You may have it,” said Lena. 

“ No, thanks, you may keep it.” 

” But let's see what is in the letter.” 

” Sure enough.” 

But that was not the end of their quarrel. The 
postage stamp was one they had never seen before, and 
while they were disputing about where it had come 

13 



The Little Lead Soldier 


from the little soldier lay on the floor, his head caught 
between the box and the cover. After they succeeded 
in tearing the stamp in two so that it was no good to 
either of them, they opened and read the letter. 


“ Algiers y Dec. 20, 19 — 

‘‘ My dear Nephew and Niece : 

“ Thank you for your presents and good wishes. 

“ This year I wanted to give you something better 
than I ever did before. Your mother told me you had 
been studying so hard you deserved something finer 
than usual. I have thought about it a great deal.” 

They stopped reading and looked at each other won- 
deringly. Was this thing lying despised on the floor 
the “ finer than usual ” present? 

But they read on. 

“ After going through all the shops and not finding 
anything good enough, or what I wanted, and having 
poked about all the bookstores to find an amusing 
book ” 

“ He discovered this beautiful object,” broke out 
Nino. 

“ Go on, go on.” 

14 


Uncle Benedict’s Present 


“ I was truly discouraged, and had about decided on 
a dress for Lena and something else for Nino, when 
quite by accident I met an old Arab whom I used to 
know in Alexandria and who sold me the little ivory 
babies I sent you last year. He ran up to me whisper- 
ing mysteriously : ‘ This year I have something truly 
beautiful for your nephew and niece,’ and he drew out 
of his bag a little box which he opened very cautiously 
— and inside there lay a battered, little, old, lead 
soldier. 

“ It made me laugh. ‘ Beggar of an Ali, are you 
making fun of me?’ ‘Allah forbid,’ he replied, and 
began to tell me about the plaything. It was the last 
one left of a whole army of lead soldiers. It had been 
through a thousand adventures. It had traveled over 
land and sea, it had been in Iceland, in Asia, in 
Africa, and it had seen strange things in the bottom 
of the ocean, and what was more wonderful it had the 
great gift of telling about its voyages. 

“ The price was very large, but after he had proved 
to me that he spoke the truth about the wonderful 
little soldier I decided to buy it, knowing how happy 
it would make you. 

“ You’ll find it all out for yourselves. He’s had no 
end of experiences. He’s talked to the white bears of 
Spitzbergen, he has crossed deserts, making himself use- 
ful to every one who treated him well. Because he 
was so little he could go anywhere without being seen, 
and he remembers everything. Don’t ask too much 


The Little Lead Soldier 


of him, and he’ll amuse you more than all the stories 
you have read in books. 

“ With Christmas wishes from your affectionate 

“ Uncle Benedict.” 



i6 



II. Tamburino's First Adventure 








CHAPTER II 


TAMBUEINO’S FIEST ADVENTUEE 
HE children looked at each other, not knowing 



what to think, and half afraid to pick up the 


little piece of lead capable of doing such wonderful 


things. 


At last Nino, being a boy and older than Lena, got 
courage to stoop down and pick up the little soldier 
and put him on the table, making a little bed for him 
of the cotton wadding in the bottom of the box. Then 
they walked around him, wondering how they could 
talk so as to suit his military knowledge and yet anx- 
ious to hear what kind of a voice could come from that 
tiny body. 

He was like one of those soldiers that come in boxes 
by the dozen — the kind that boys love to put out in 
battle array and shoot at with paper cannon-balls. He 
was larger than they usually come, and dressed in the 
uniform of the French army, red trousers and blue 


The Little Lead Soldier 



coat. He was graceful, and if he hadn't been battered 
would have looked quite stout. He had broad shoul- 
ders and strong arms and small feet. Altogether a 
good looking soldier, but a little too old. 

While the children stood wondering, this, the larg- 
est, the most famous and wonderful of all the lead sol- 
20 


Tamburino’s First Adventure 

diers in the world slowly rose and stretched his arms. 
Without taking a step he looked wearily about him 
and gave a long, deep sigh. Nino and Lena sank back 
on the sofa, speechless, gazing at each other. 

The little soldier continued to sigh. 

Then Nino got up and went to the table, asking very 
gently : 

“ Do you want anything ? ” 

“ Where am I ? ” came the response in a small, clear, 
sad, high, little voice. 

“ We are Uncle Benedict's nephew and niece," said 
Nino trembling. 

“ I see, you are the children for whom the captain 
bought me of the Arabian in Algiers. And we are in 
Italy now ? " 

" Yes." 

" That makes me happy. What city in Italy ? " 

“ In Florence.” 

" I'm glad of that.” 

“ What is your name ? ” whispered Lena timidly. 

“ Tamburino.” 

“ Uncle wrote us that you had traveled a great deal 

and would tell us all your adventures,” said Lena. 

21 


The Little Lead Soldier 

“ My, my, what a hurry you’re in. Let me rest a 
while. I have been shut up in a box for many days 
and can’t talk yet,” said Tamburino, turning away his 
head. 

“ Of course,” said Nino solemnly ; “ pay no attention 
to her ; she is a woman, and all women are curious.” 

" But they are not stupid,” replied Lena angrily, 
and left the room. 

“ Too bad, too bad ; if you have to quarrel I shall be 
as mute as a fish. Go and call your sister back and 
make up with her. Your uncle told me not to tell 
you a thing unless you were good.” 

“ But Lena is very curious and bossy.” 

“ Well, didn’t you begin it ? You are as curious as 
she is, and you are older and ought to be more reason- 
able.” 

Lena was already sorry that she had gone away, for 
fear she might lose some of the first beautiful stories ; 
she slowly came back and put her pretty face, framed 
in yellow curls, between the folding doors. 

” Nino,” she said softly. 

“ Come in and don’t be foolish. Shut the door — 

it’s cold here,” answered Nino. And peace was made. 

22 


Tamburino’s First Adventure 

“ Let me rest till evening/' said Tamburino, “ then 
if you promise not to quarrel I'll tell you a story." 

“ Where should you like to stay ? " asked Lena. 

" In my little box." 

" I’ll find you a prettier one ; leave it to me." 

Then they hunted about, but could find nothing 
suitable. Finally their mother gave them a deep 
Japanese box in which they put a layer of flufiy cot- 
ton. On this they carefully laid the little soldier, and 
tiptoed away whispering, all excitement over what 
they should hear later. 

After dinner that evening, following a day of their 
very best behavior, they got permission to take the 
little fellow to the dining-room. They took him out of 
the Japanese box, and he at once bowed, and began his 
story. 


23 



r 


I 


\ 




f 


* 

t * 


% X' 







III. Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 







CHAPTER III 


TAMBUEINO^S BIETH AND FIEST PEIEN^DS 

I WAS born in Paris in a large factory, and was 
made to order for a young woman who wanted to 
give me as a present to her little boy. I wasn’t born 
alone. There were a dozen like me, diflPerent from 
ordinary lead soldiers and all run in the same mould. 
The lady paid a high price for us, and was very much 
pleased with us, and indeed our father, the manu- 
facturer, had used all his skill in making us. He used 
sheets of extra fine lead and colored us with the best 

paint, he made us strong enough to stand all the hard 
27 


The Little Lead Soldier 


knocks of life, and gave us all the gift of memory. He 
was so careful of us that he made a beautiful long box 
to put us in. It was inlaid with mother of pearl, and 
had little compartments lined with satin. Then he 
patted us and laid us delicately in our little house, 
wrapped it up and sent us to the lady. She was as 
happy as she could be and gave us to her son, a bright 
little boy about ten years old. 

You cannot imagine the joy of Renato, as the little 
fellow was called, in getting such a present from his 
mother. He took us out one by one, arranged us in 
line, made us go through the military tactics, and after 
playing with us an hour put us away to rest. 

It was a jolly life, and all my brothers, including 
the captain and the lieutenant, were very contented. I 
was happy and comfortable and soon got acquainted 
with all the family. These were the Signora Mar- 
gherita, the mother of Renato, Signor Filippo, his 
father, and Gian Pietro, Renato’s uncle, a most 
original character. He never did a thing and had 
never done a thing all his life. Every day he read 
the newspaper, took a walk very slowly, ate his 

dinner, took a nap, had a drink, and went to bed. 

28 


Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 

He had no business, he didn’t care for science or art or 
politics, and when his brother’s friends discussed books 
and pictures and public affairs he shook his head as 
though he pitied all such people. 

“ Why do you get so excited ? ” he would ask. 

“ If every one acted as you do, dear Gian Pietro, the 
world would bo very badly off,” some one would 
answer. 

“ And do all your discussions make it so much 
better ? ” 

” Yes ; without such things it would be very much 
worse.” 

“ What does it matter whether this man is elected or 
that ? What difference does it make if a book is well 
written or badly written ? Don’t read it and it won’t 
trouble you. Why do you care if a picture is beautiful 
or ugly, or if it was painted by Raphael or Titian. 
Don’t look at it, and you won’t have to discuss it.” 

“ It would be impossible for me to live as you do,” 
said Signor Filippo. 

“ But I am very happy this way.” 

“ I need to work.” 

” Need to ? No, you like it. Work isn’t a neces- 
29 


The Little Lead Soldier 

sity, man wasn’t born to work. Rather than work 
I’d ” 

“ You’d die of starvation.” 

“ Who knows ? I’d buy a penny’s worth of bread and 
cheese and sit under a tree and eat and rest.” 

Once this strange man went to visit some friends 
who lived in the country. 

” Good-bye, Filippo and Margherita,” he said on go- 
ing to bed ; ” to-morrow I’m going to the country.” 

“ When shall you come back ? ” asked his brother- 
in-law. 

” In the evening ; how long did you think I’d 
stay ? ” 

” Well, I only asked so that I could send some one 
to the station for you.” 

” Yes, yes, of course ; I’ll be back in the evening.” 

But the evening passed, and the next day and day 
after day for five days. 

Signor Filippo wrote and telegraphed to their 
friends, but not a word did he hear. When Gian 
Pietro finally came his brother said : “ You made us 
very anxious.” 

” And why ? ” asked Gian Pietro. 

30 


Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 

“ You said you would be back the next evening." 

" So I did, but as I was enjoying myself I stayed.” 
Sometimes he preached his theory of laziness to 
Renato, when he was studying his lessons. 

" Why do you study, child ? ” he would ask. 

“ Because I have to. It is my duty.” 

” Why duty ? ” he lazily questioned. ” Rest would 
be better for your health.” 

” Papa and Mama tell me that ignorant men are 
ruled by every one.” 

“Don’t listen to what they say, boy. What use 
shall you make of your learning ? ” 

“ I’m going to get a position.” 

“ You will not get it for love.” 

“ I will be a doctor.” 

“ So as to kill people ? ” 

“ A lawyer then.” 

“ To send people to prison ? ” 

“ Maybe I’ll be a professor.” 

“ So as to make other boys unhappy ? ” 

“ I might write and be a journalist or a poet ; or I 
might be an architect or a painter.” 

“All these things just worry you and shorten your 

31 


The Little Lead Soldier 

life. Take care of your health — that is the necessary 
thing, but of what use is work ? ” 

“ Do keep quiet,” interrupted Signora Margherita, 
half laughing, half angry ; ” you’ll spoil the boy.” 

” All right ; you want him to work, and think you’ll 
make something good out of him.” 

Then he played a while with us soldiers and after 
that he went to bed, saying in a tired, sleepy voice, 
“Well, I’ll let the poor little soldiers rest.” I laughed 
to myself. This useless man who thought everything 
else useless amused me immensely, and when serious 
discussions were going on his face alone was a pleasure 
to see. 

I lived many years in this family. The boy became 
a fine, courageous man and Uncle Gian Pietro grew 
more and more lazy. Signora Margherita was very 
delicate and her husband was always anxious about 
her. One winter she was taken with a fever and in 
two weeks she died. 

Renato’s grief was indescribable. His father could 
do nothing with him. Even Gian Pietro was moved 
by the loss of this dear lady. 

Naturally Renato played no more with us. We 
32 


Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 

were one of the memories of his childhood. But once 
in a while he would look at us and talk to us, and 
when his mother died he laid us out on the table and 
cried as he remembered the way he used to kiss her 
when she would let him play with us as a reward for 
extra goodness. 

One day I remember particularly, because it was the 
first real trial of my life. I was separated from my 
brothers. Renato wished to give a present to one of 
his little cousins, and knowing how much he admired 
us he thought he would give us to him. Then re- 
membering how much his mother liked us, at the last 
moment he decided to keep one in memory of her. 
The good fortune was mine, and I remained with him. 
I say good fortune, for the new owner maltreated my 
poor brothers, and they all disappeared in a short time. 
I was placed in Renato’s desk, where I could watch all 
his joys and sorrows. How many secrets I heard — 
how much about his plans and disappointments ! 

He had become a handsome man, tall, with brown 
curls about his forehead, and a grave face that showed 
the goodness of his soul. His one dream was to be- 
come illustrious, to do something great that would 
33 


The Little Lead Soldier 


carry his name all over the world, for so he hoped to 
gain the affection of a young girl that he loved. For 
her he wrote verses ; for her he studied ; for her he 
worked sometimes all through the night. 

“ How can a man be born to live such a life ? ” his 
uncle often said to him, but he only smiled and con- 
tinued to work and to dream. 

One day the girl left for a far country. Renato tried 
in vain to get news of her, and concluded that she had 
forgotten him. So, without listening to the prayers 
and remonstrances of his father and uncle, he came 
to a serious decision. He heard about a company of 
men starting off to discover the North Pole. He de- 
termined to go with them. 

The days before he started were terrible. Farewells, 
preparations, prayers— all were sad. Everything 
brought tears to the eyes of Signor Filippo, and Uncle 
Gian Pietro was more agitated than he had ever been 
in his life before. The day before he left Renato 
packed into a suit case all the little things that re- 
minded him of the people he loved. A miniature of 
his mother ; a silver thimble with which she had 

sewed up to the last days of her life ; pictures of his 
34 


Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 


father and his uncle ; some books, one of which was 
that from which his mother taught him to read ; a 
dried red rose and a little lace handkerchief. Then 
as he was about to close the box he saw me. 

“ Oh, my beautiful little soldier," he said, “ what 
hours of happiness I have passed with you ! you shall 
go with me ; you shall follow me through the snows 
and I’ll keep you warm in your little bed," and so it 
35 



The Little Lead Soldier 


happened. I waa put in a box for a house, and I went 
into the bag with the other precious objects. He 
loved to talk to me as he would to a person, and go 
over with me all the sad and happy doings of his past ; 
and so it happened that I was often taken from my box 
and thrust into Renato’s pocket. In the hotels I was 
on the table among his papers. On the ship I was 
either with him or in his cabin. I became his nearest 
and his dearest possession. He never imagined how 
grateful I was. 

It was then that I began to teach myself to listen and 
to talk. I learned to discuss and observe, to make 
comparisons, and form my own opinions. 

We traveled without stopping through Belgium, 
Holland, Denmark, and Sweden. Signor Filippo went 
with us to Stockholm. Then he left us, as he could 
not bear to see his son start on his dangerous expedi- 
tion. It was here that we joined the other travelers 
about to start on the long hard voyage. They were a 
Dutchman, an Englishman, and an Italian. 

We crossed the Baltic Sea and went by land to the 
extreme boundary of Norway, when we boarded the 

ship that was to take us to the Pole. 

36 


Tamburino’s Birth and First Friends 

I remember nothing in particular of this first jour- 
ney. I was made stupid by my discomfort and longed 
for the big dining-room of our house in Paris. I was 
not yet accustomed to the inconveniences of travel, but 
soon I had to adapt myself to much worse things. 

And now, children, we must go to bed. To-morrow 
I will begin to tell you about my serious adventures. 
Good-night. 

4 : ^ 

Nino and Lena laid the little soldier away and went 
to bed with their heads full of ideas and longing for 
the next evening, when they were to hear more. They 
were so excited their mother was afraid they wouldn’t 
be able to sleep. 


37 









IV. 


At the North Pole 










CHAPTER IV 
AT THE NORTH POLE 


A fter supper the next day they brought out the 
little lead soldier, and begged him to go on 
with his story. 

The ship on which we sailed — said Tamburino — 
carried everything necessary for the long season in 
that unknown part of the world where it is always 
dark and cold, for you know way up there in the 
north there are months at a time when the sun 
doesn't shine. 

I soon learned to know all the companions of my 
friend. These were a shy, quiet Englishman, Lord 

Midling ; an ordinary Hollander, Van Ryck, so precise 
41 


The Little Lead Soldier 


I had no patience with him ; and an Italian, Lorenzo 
Ranaini, who was quite crazy ; there is no other word 
to describe him. 

No sooner had he seen me than he was determined 
to get possession of me, and my master had a great 
time holding on to me. 

Ranaini made a lot of noise and invented a thousand 
games in which I took part. He built a little theatre 
for marionettes, and gave plays in which I always 
played the principal roles. 

Every day he invented some new trick and once, 
after we had started, when we were sailing amidst great 
masses of ice, he got the cook to put me inside of an 
enormous cake. 

Can you imagine it? I can never tell you what I 
suffered. But the worst of all was the fright of my 
master, who thought he had lost his mascot. 

There was a great dinner on board and I, tucked 
away in my prison, could overhear poor Renato’s sighs 
over my disappearance. 

“ You have hidden him,” he said to Lorenzo. 

“ No, I assure you,” laughed Lorenzo. 

” Then it is you who are playing a trick on me,” he 
42 


At the North Pole 

charged Van Ryck. And the stolid, careful Dutch- 
man answered : “ This would not have happened if you 
had kept your things in order.” 

Renato gave them no peace until they had all prom- 
ised to help him search for me. At the end of the 
dinner the famous cake was served, with me in the 
middle of it. When I fell out they all cheered and 



Renato shouted with joy. He gave me a bath and put 
me in the pocket of his fur coat. I went to sleep there 
amidst the sound of glasses clinking, Lorenzo laugh- 
ing, and a mouth-organ wonderfully played by Lord 
43 


The Little Lead Soldier 

Midling. It was the last happy day free from worry 
that was passed by the four good friends. After this 
every one waited intently for the orders of the captain. 
He was always making observations. The dinners 
were all serious, without toasts, and there was no con- 
versation but scientific discussions, of which I under- 
stood very little. 

Once or twice a week Lorenzo borrowed me for his 
marionette theatre. He would give plays preceded by 
organ solos with part of the crew for audience and Van 
Ryck as director. 

I was full of curiosity, and whenever I got a chance 
I would look out of the window to make out in what 
strange country we might be, but I never succeeded in 
seeing much. My master passed long hours on the 
bridge, when he would talk to me as if I were a person. 

At such times I would look out over the sea, and the 
mountains of floating ice filled me with indescribable 
terror. 

We could always see the sun, but never felt warm. 
It seemed as if we were in a country of bad fairies. 

One day the watchman called, “ Land.” 

” Land, Land,” was shouted on every side. 

44 


At the North Pole 

“ It is a bank of ice/' said some one. 

“ It is an iceberg.” 

“ No,” said the sailor. ” I saw an animal on the top 
of the mountain. It must have been a bear.” 

“ A queer bear — he had horns longer than a deer.” 

” A reindeer then.” 

” Great Scott I ” exclaimed Lorenzo. ” Wouldn’t a 
little fresh meat taste good ? ” 

In less time than it takes to tell it the command 
was given to stop and every one was ready for a hunt. 
The ship was stopped at an island, if one could call 
it that, a forgotten little rock in the midst of that sea 
of ice where the rays of the sun had melted some of 
the layers of ice and allowed a few plants to grow. 

Scarcely had their feet touched land when savage 
yells came from the men who found themselves close 
to the reindeer. 

I was anxious to see this animal, of which I had 
heard the men talk so much, for I had learned that it 
was very useful to these people of the far north. The 
Laplanders use it for food as we do sheep and oxen, 
and instead of using horses they make the reindeer 

draw their sledges. The Greenlanders use its skin 
45 


The Little Lead Soldier 


for clothes, and the tendons they make into strong 
thread. Out of the horns of the old animals they 
carve cooking utensils, and from part of the young 
ones they make gelatine. Nor is this all ; for I had 
heard that they mixed the food found in the stomachs 
with chopped meat and blood and fat and so made a 
kind of cake they were very fond of. 

The deer was frightened at the shouting and fled, 
turning to the right. Two sailors followed it, while 
my master and the Englishman ran to the left to head 
him off in that direction. 

“ I say — it is a superb animal,” said Lorenzo, who 
was a passionate hunter. “We mustn’t let it escape. 
It must be a female.” 

“ No,” said Lord Midling, “ don’t you see its great 
horns ? The female’s horns fall quickly and are much 
smaller.” 

“ Look then I ” 

“ Quick 1 ” 

The reindeer ran to the north, and at that instant a 
drove of these useful and beautiful animals appeared at 
the foot of the rock. Renato and the Dutchman crept 

toward them on their stomachs, dragging themselves 
46 


At the North Pole 


along on the ice close to the shore until they came to a 
stream of melting ice, on the edge of which the rein- 
deer were feeding. My master was very wet and kept 
sinking in the mud. I was afraid I should lose sight 
of him, and I trembled as I watched the hunt because 
the travelers were so excited. 

At last the reindeer were within range of their 
rifles. Four shots brought down two of the most beau- 
tiful animals, who were then taken to the ship with a 
great deal of trouble. But they made the most deli- 
cious dinner, at least so I judged from the joy of the 
diners. 

We sailed past the island toward the north. 
Autumn was coming. We saw less and less of the 
sun, and were absolutely surrounded by ice. 

I will not try to describe to you the long monoto- 
nous days passed indoors. The travelers all seemed 
depressed. The captain was always busy. I could see 
he was making preparations for winter. I was sad be- 
cause I could see that my master was. Lorenzo still 
made absurd speeches and gave plays with his mario- 
nettes. But no one listened. Pulcinello and Columbia 
beat me on the head whenever they could, but they 
47 


The Little Lead Soldier 


couldn’t make Renato laugh any more. He read 
scientific books and watched the polar nights. 

I wish I could describe them to you. There is a far- 
off light with soft tones melting into thin air. You 
can’t tell where one color begins and another ends. 
Everything is seen in a light like twilight, no forms — 
just phantoms. The plains of ice are dark blue with 
suggestions of daylight. The color of the sky is 
violet, dark blue at the top shading to green; and all 
the colors are reflected on the surface of the ice. If 
you look toward the South you can see a great red 
moon with a yellow aureole which disappears behind 
light clouds and shines through them, making them 
like a golden, translucent veil. 

On the twenty-eighth of October the moon shone all 
night, while the reflection of the sun’s rays tinged the 
ice with rose color. Sometimes it seemed as if two, 
sometimes as if three great moons moved over the sky. 
Lorenzo never ceased exclaiming and wondering, and 
Lord Midling amused himself by refusing to explain 
things to him. 

“ Two moons,” said Lorenzo ; ” where can we be ? 

Perhaps we have changed planets.” 

48 


At the North Pole 


“ Surely/’ said Lord Midling. 

Why don’t you explain it to me ? ” 

“ Explanations are forbidden. You ought to study 
for yourself.” 

Lorenzo would grow furious, and I too wished to 
know. Poor little nobody — to whom a manufacturer 
had in some strange way given the power of under- 
standing. 

At last Van Ryck tried to explain in rather poor 
Italian that what we saw was due to refraction of 
light on infinitesimal needles of ice that floated in the 
atmosphere. 

It lasted a whole night, and is one of the most superb 
sights of the polar region. It is known as the aurora 
borealis. It was a festival of light. There were long 
streamers shaped like burning serpents thrown from a 
wheel. A soft light in the horizon spread little by 
little until it was a great yellow arch, and immense 
numbers of various colored bright rays shot out of it 
in every direction. Here and there flashes like light- 
ning darted up, then vivid, luminous waves would 
form and revolve in spirals of splendid red and pale 

emerald. Then it would fade to reappear suddenly. 

49 


The Little Lead Soldier 

“ How marvelous 1 ” exclaimed Nino and Lena in 
one breath. “ How I should like to see an aurora 
borealis,” said Lena. “ And I, too,” added Nino. 
“ When Fm grown up I'll go to the Pole.” 

I saw many of them during that long winter while 
we were buried in the ice waiting for the sun to come 
again so we could get further north. 

Nothing happened during those long months. 
Some bear hunts and some trips with the dogs, who 
drew the sledges over the ice. 

But one day (and here begins a truly terrible story), 
a day in the month of March, a sailor said he had seen 
the traces of a bear near us. 

In a flash every one was again ready for a hunt. 
Ten sailors only were left on board. The others fol- 
lowed the travelers, and they were led by Captain 
John, who was used to hunting in Siberia. 

In the strange twilight the hunters crept slowly 
forward, and I tried to see all I could from the little 
pocket of Renato’s waistcoat. 

Some of the hunters followed the tracks of the ani- 
mals and others took their places behind a great rock. 

At last right in front of them an enormous bear ap- 
50 


At the North Pole 

peared coming out of a hole in a cliff. I had never 
seen anything more frightful. This huge animal was 
prepared to face any danger in the hope of finding 
something that would satisfy his hunger. 

Four shots were fired in vain. The bear came 
nearer. Some of the guns wouldn’t go off, perhaps be- 
cause it was so cold, or for some reason I can’t explain. 
I only know that the hunters stood there unprotected. 
The men on the other side of the rock couldn’t help, as 
there was no way for them to know that their friends 
were in any danger from the wild beast. At last 
Renato and Lord Midling advanced and fired their 
guns when within a few feet of the bear. One shot en- 
tered his shoulder. He fell with a terrible howl then, 
infuriated by the pain, he rose and dashed on Renato. 
The poor fellow did not have time to draw his knife 
from his belt. The bear’s fangs entered his right arm 
and the force of the contact threw him on the ice. 
Imagine my horror; it makes me shudder even now. 
The blood dripped from the wounds in his face and 
chest. His friends ran to help him and Lord Midling 
finished the bear with two shots. The bear made no 
defense, but in his dying convulsions one claw caught 

51 


The Little Lead Soldier 


the breast of my master and tore the pocket of the 
waistcoat where I was hidden — so that I fell out on the 
ice. 

And there I lay lost forever without help and with- 
out hope. 

« « « 

Nino and Lena did not dare ask the little soldier to 
tell them any more that evening. They waited for 
the next day with some anxiety hoping that by that 
time he would have overcome some of the sadness 
aroused by his memories. 


52 



V. A New Master 




CHAPTER V 


A NEW MASTER 

T he next morning Tamburino began his story 
again. 

What tortures I endured on seeing my master car- 
ried away by Lord Midling and Lorenzo cannot even 
be imagined. I thought he was dead, for I never saw 
him again. I lay still on the ice where I thought 
Renato had been murdered and I couldn't move. I 
bitterly blamed the old Parisian toy maker who had 
made me able to see and understand and yet hadn't 
given me power to walk. 

I knew nothing of the ship. I saw for a time two 
old dogs around the body of the bear, but they soon 
disappeared. 

The time passed slowly. The sun was in the 
heavens all day and it was always light. How sad is 
that midnight sun. Sad as the day is, the night is 
worse. 

As I lay there I used to think about the beautiful 
55 


The Little Lead Soldier 


evenings in Renato's home when he was little, the 
long years when he played with me on the big dining 
table while his Uncle Gian Pietro sat by with his lazy 
talk. 

After a time things about me began to change, and 
everywhere there was noise, sometimes dull, sometimes 
loud and from a great distance, the noise of water. 
This was dreadful and lasted a long time ; but I don’t 
know how many days, as the sun never set. 

At last quite suddenly I found myself in an ocean 
full of ice, mountains moving rapidly with the noisy 
water, which was a dirty, dull green seen by the light 
of the polar sun. I was on an iceberg, and the body 
of the bear was still near me as we traveled toward 
unknown lands, and often I saw flights of large birds 
that looked like penguins, then flocks of geese and sea- 
gulls : so I knew we were near land. But who could 
take me to safety ? 

At length my ice bank drifted close to land, it 
coasted along some little islands, and Anally stopped 
in a bay of a large island which I afterward found was 
Spitzbergen. 

Beside me were high mountains very different from 
56 



IN AN OCEAN FULL OF ICE 





hei 



A New Master 


ours. They seemed to be of granite, strangely cut with 
columns, arranged in terraces above each other. They 
stood guarding the coast, and the ocean seemed to 
moan as it beat against them. 

I had no hope of being able to get near the shore, 
where I could see some huts, something at least which 
showed the presence of human beings, when a strange 
thing happened which was the beginning of new ad- 
ventures. 

Up on my bank of ice came some walruses to rest. 
You know, or if you do not I will tell you, that this is 
an animal which lives partly on land and partly in 
the water, and it is very highly prized. This may be 
because of the oil which exudes from its body, or on 
account of its large tusks which are of ivory, harder 
and whiter than those of the elephant. The walruses 
arranged themselves and left one as a sentinel to watch 
for danger. This is one of their customs. But this 
time the sentinel failed to see what was happening. 
Two large boats approached full of men to try and 
capture the animals. The men got out of the first 
boat, and one man threw an iron hook which caught 
the sentinel walrus. Then the men from the other 
57 


The Little Lead Soldier 



boat joined in and struck at the largest of the animals. 
There was the wildest confusion. Some of the animals 
fled into the sea and others turned ferociously, pre- 
pared for a desperate defense. 

I shall not bore you with another description of a 
fight, I shall only say that two of the best animals 
were killed and taken to the boats. 

Then I saw that two of the sailors had noticed th© 
stain of the bear’s blood on the snow, and they came 
close to the place where I lay near the body of the 
bear. One was a handsome, strong man with a black 
beard, the other was a delicate, ^young man. Both 

were dressed in fur. For a moment I thought they 
58 


A New Master 


might be Esquimaux. I did not know where I was, 
and thought I might be near Greenland, but judging 
by the way they were dressed and the way they talked 
I soon saw I was mistaken. 

“ Look, Ivan,” said the older, “ this is a bear killed 
by the hand of a man.” 

” Certainly,” answered the other, “ you are right. 
See, Captain Kykare, here are shots.” 

“ Sure enough. Ivan, this iceberg comes from polar 
seas. This bear was surely killed by last year's ex- 
plorers.” 

” Who knows ? ” 

“ We may find something else, some weapon, per- 
haps.” 

” Hello, Captain, look here.” 

“ Great Scott, a soldier of the French army I That 
is, of the children's army.” 

” What shall we do with it. Captain ? ” 

” Do you wish to play with it ? ” 

” Hardly, Captain, but if you will give it to me I 
will give it to Maud’s little brother. They are chil- 
dren of a maker of cod-liver oil who lives at Reykjavik 
in Iceland.” 


59 


The Little Lead Soldier 

“ Ah, I see, old fellow ; you want to please the family 
of your sweetheart.” 

“ No ; but they were good to me when I first came 
to Iceland for fish. I wish to please them for no other 
reason.” 

“ All right, my boy, it makes no difference to me ; 
take it and be happy.” 

So here I found a new friend and a new master. 
Behold me this time in the pocket of a cod fisher, 
stationed on the coast of Spitzbergen. 

Ivan put me into good condition again and called 
on everybody to admire me. On all sides I was 
greeted by exclamations and for the three days the sail- 
ors remained at Spitzbergen I was their constant play- 
thing. Like Renato Ivan never left me. I went with 
him when he hunted reindeer or when he searched for 
scurvy grass : this is the name given to a kind of sea 
cabbage which the sailors think cures scurvy, a disease 
common among those living on salt meat. 

One evening as Ivan and Captain Kykare were eat- 
ing their supper of salt fish and biscuit Ivan asked : 
“ Tell me, Captain, you have been in this island so 

often — did you ever meet the wild man of the snow ? ” 
6o 


A New Master 

** Not I, but my father did/' 

“ Then he is not a fable ? " 

“ No, indeed, he was a Russian ; his name was 
Sarakoflf.” 

“ And why was he here all alone ? ” 

“ I know nothing about that, but he was here." 

“ He was a convict escaped from Siberia in a whaling 
ship," said another sailor. 

“ But how did he live here ? " 

" By fishing ; he built himself a hut." 

“ And is this it ? " 

“ It looks like it," answered the captain. “ When I 
was a youngster I remember seeing shells and parts of 
trees carried to the shore on warm currents that flowed 
through the sea of ice, and I heard that Sarakolf 
collected them." 

“ Santa Maria ! How many years did he live here 
alone ? " 

" Twenty-three, my boy." 

** God help us." 

“Ah I" said the captain, “that prayer makes me 
feel certain that you are thinking of your Maud." 

“ Don’t joke. Captain ; I really wish to please the 

6i 


The Little Lead Soldier 


little boy. If you only knew — he looks like my little 
brother, a little brother who was lost in the sea. Fll 
tell you, Captain. We went to the shore fishing for 
shrimps, and my mother had forbidden me to take 
him with me. I did not listen; it seemed to me so 
safe and he was strong. I left him a moment, telling 
him not to move while I went after a shrimp. I told 
him to hold fast to a rock until I came back. But he 
left it and walked into a deep hole. When I came 
back he was nowhere to be seen, and pretty soon I saw 
his little body fioating a minute, then I eaw it no 
more.^’ 

Ivan choked, and the captain made the sign of the 
cross. 

“And your mother?’* asked the captain. 

“ She is dead, too. Captain. I am alone, alone. I 
live only with the fish. I often think I would like to 
change seas. I am tired of ice and of this pale sun 
that always shines but never warms us. But what can 
I do ? I love Maud’s little brother, and it is a great 
day when I get back to the fishing station where 
he is.” 

“ You’re a fine boy ; when you decide to change seas 
62 


A New Master 


I’ll introduce you to the captain of a boat on the 
Pacific.” 

“ Thank you, Captain, but I won’t go so long as 
little Rink lives.” 


V- 


63 


VI. The Dangers of Iceland 



CHAPTER VI 
THE DANGEES OF ICELAND 

C APTAIN KYKARE landed at the village of 
Reykjavik. The fishing was over, and as they 
had stayed longer than usual this year trying for the 
walruses the captain was anxious to get away, so Ivan 
had only a few days in which to visit the oil maker’s 
family. 

He started out walking very quickly on account of 
the present he was 
taking to Rink. 

Sometimes he held 
me in his hand, as 
I lay in his pocket, 
and all the time he 
talked to me. 

“ Dear little fel- 
low — my good Tam- 
burino— don’t you like this beautiful country ? You 

will be happy in Rink’s little house. It smells of 
67 



The Little Lead Soldier 

fish and oil, but what does that matter? Every 
one here makes cod-liver oil. You will see Rink is 
good. Then it is fine, this country — not, of course, 
like France, our France." He was quiet a little while, 
then went on, “ Do you see those great columns of 
granite ? It seems as though we were in the country 
of giants, doesn’t it, Tamburino? Look up at the 
terraces and pillars ; doesn’t it look like a giant’s 
palace ? Then these rocks are useful. Scientists 
come here for spar, a kind of mineral they use in 
their experiments in their laboratories. You didn’t 
know all this, did you, Tamburino? Then Ice- 
land has quantities of sulphur. If there were no 
more sulphur in all the world Iceland could furnish 
enough for every one. Do you see that river at the 
right ? They call it Fuli Lohr (the river of bad odors) 
because it has sulphur in it. Here, too, they have lava, 
and mineral waters. Do I amuse you, Tamburino ? ’’ 
If he could have known that I heard him ! 

We crossed a great plain that looked as if it were 
sprinkled with drops of water. 

“ Take care, here, Tamburino, this water might melt 

you, for it is hot,’’ continued Ivan. “ It is from a 
68 


The Dangers of Iceland 

geyser, and is boiling, my dear. Did you know that 
these geysers spout up in the air as high as forty yards 
and that the water weighs sixty tons ? This place is 
dangerous, you know. Sometimes the earth is so thin 
it won’t bear the weight of a man, and we must go 
round back of the rocks.” 

But he walked along happily, growing gayer as he 
came near Rink's home. 

The smell now was absolutely dreadful, and the idea 
of living all my life in such a cold country made 
me desperate. I longed to ask Ivan never to leave 
me. I was afraid this would be my last dwelling 
place. 

Ivan knocked at the door of a little low house and 
waited a few minutes. Then a young girl appeared. 
She was small and short, with a grave face as cold as 
the land in which she lived. She took Ivan’s hand 
and broke into tears. 

“ Why, Maud,” he said, ” what is the matter? ” 

“ Alas, sad news, Ivan.” 

“ Rink ? ” 

“ He is dead. 

Ivan leaned against the door. 

69 


The Little Lead Soldier 


“ Rink,” he said, “ my dear little brother.” 

“ You know the beautiful frozen lake where thou- 
sands of fish live under the ice ? Well, one day Father 
took him to fish with him. They made holes in the 
ice and let down the hooks and caught the fish and 
Rink was much amused. But Father lost sight of 
him a moment and he disappeared in the treacherous 
lake.” 

Ivan sobbed. ” I must go, Maud, I cannot come back. 
I loved him too much, my little Rink.” 

And indeed he never did go back. To tell the 
truth, children, I loved this good, simple sailor so 
much that it made me unhappy to see him so sad, but 
I was not sorry that I was going to stay with him. 

We went on board the vessel sooner than the time 
appointed and the captain saw at once that something 
had happened. 

” Captain Kykare, I want to go to another sea.” 

“ Have you quarreled with your sweetheart? ” 

” No, Captain, but you promised to help me when I 
wanted to change.” 

” Yes, I promised you.” 

* sis * * 


70 


The Dangers of Iceland 

The sailors talked of nothing but the voyage and 
Brittany. It was very hard for Ivan, but as for me, 
children, I was all gayety. The further south we 
sailed the more I felt as though I were made new 
again. Just think, to see my own country, France ; 
even if it were only Brittany, and far from Paris, still 
it was France. 

When we left the boat Ivan took the captain's 
hand. 

“ Next year, Captain, I shall not be with you. You 
remember ? ” 

“ Yes, I remember, my boy. When you are in 
Havre look up Captain Paziani ; he is an Italian, and 
travels on the Pacific Ocean. Sometimes he goes to 
India. Give him this letter, and God bless you." 

“ Thank you. Captain. But shall we not see each 
other again ? " 

“ Who knows whether I shall come again to 
France? I should like to stay in the north. Per- 
haps you, too, have made a mistake to leave the 
fishing." 

“ I need the sun. In the north I always feel 
frozen to my very soul.” 


71 


The Little Lead Soldier 


“ Tell me, boy, about that famous deserter. Was he 
swallowed by a whale ? '' 

“ No, Captain, I have him with me to remind me of 
Rink.” 

And so they separated. 


72 



VII. From North to South 










I 


1 






t 











) 



\ 


t 


K 

\ 


i 


I 


1 


'll 


i 


i 







* t 











CHAPTER VII 
FEOM NORTH TO SOUTH 

I VAN waa truly a great, big boy. For a few months 
he lived on the Breton coast in the cabin of an 
uncle for whom he was very thoughtful and to whom 
he paid much attention. He had no friends ; he never 
went to the inn ; he was always quiet and read a great 
deal. He was the sort of person who seemed made to 
be sad and on whom only serious events made a deep 
impression. But he spent very little time in the cabin, 
and one day he did up hie bundle and prepared to 
start for Havre. He had never shown me to any one, 
not even to his uncle, but kept me all to himself and 
even wore me like a watch tied to a ribbon. 

Little by little I was forgotten. Everything in this 
world changes and passes. But what could I expect ? 
I took interest in my long voyages. The many turns 
of fortune had made me used to travelers’ adventures. 
I smiled when I thought of seeing new faces, the new 
costumes of unfamiliar countries, the clothes, the food, 

even the religions were all so different. 

75 


The Little Lead Soldier 


Ivan found no difficulty in getting on Captain 
Paziani’s ship, and we set sail with the first spring 
winds. The voyage was to be very long. We were to 
carry goods to all the large ports of Asia until we came 
to the islands of the Pacific. The captain would buy 
gum in Arabia, pearls in India, tea in Ceylon, rice in 
China and bric-^-brac in Japan. He made arrange- 
ments to pick up his cargo on the return trip, and 
would keep on to the Society Islands, from which he 
would turn back toward home. 

Ivan made friends with an old man who had spent 
his life traveling in these waters and who had promised 
to be his guide in all the cities where they should be 
permitted to land. He was a good old man, very 
brown from the sun, and he spoke an unintelligible 
language made up of Genoese dialect, bad French and 
a mixture of all the languages spoken in the countries 
at whose coasts they stopped. 

“ You shall see, you shall see,” he said to Ivan. 
” I will amuse you. You will meet many pleasant 
people. I know people in Pekin, in Japan, in the 
islands. You shall see. I will take you to theatres 

and balls ; I will introduce you to the rulers of courts.” 

76 


From North to South 

“ But what are you talking about, Gaspero?” 

“ Yes, dear, yes. You shall meet Paofei and his 
daughters ; they are flowers, those girls, they " 

The ship anchored at Papeete on a beautiful after- 
noon toward the end of summer. 

Multitudes of small boats swarmed about our ship, 
the owners trying to scramble on deck with baskets 
full of oranges and bananas. But Ivan was so anxious 
to go ashore that he wouldn't give Gaspero time to 
buy anything. He had become so accustomed to the 
dreariness of everything in the north that he was 
crazy with delight to see the trees and plants glisten- 
ing under the tropical sun, and fairly wanted to em- 
brace them all. Along the shore were many wooden 
buildings among which grew two very tall trees. 
These were known as bread trees, and gave not only 
delicious shade but they also bore a fruit which the 
natives cut in slices and roasted on red-hot stones. 
This tree is now well known in Europe. There were 
also large shops, many of them kept by Chinese, and 
there were also great coffee and cocoa plantations. 

Gaspero never let Ivan rest. He told him over and 
over again all he would show him of the natural 
77 


The Little Lead Soldier 

beauties of the island and the customs of the country, 
so new to those just coming from a land of snow. And 
the first thing while Ivan rested he would take him to 
see Paofei, a rich Taitian. You see, children, I give 
you my impressions just as I remember them. Per- 
haps things seemed more beautiful to me by contrast 
to that sad north country, and especially did I feel the 
contrast in the sea. Here the sun shone gaily in the 
beautiful turquoise water, turning the foam to mother- 
of-pearl, touching a coral shore and making more vivid 
the forests of orange, banana, cocoa, and breadfruit 
trees. The whole city was a garden, with scattered 
wooden houses and large shady paths running off from 
the roads. 

At the time Ivan and Gaspero landed the picturesque 
roads were thronged with people, all participating in 
the general gayety. Passing along the roads were 
many young girls with brown skins and black hair 
falling in long braids, and eyes that were deep set and 
sparkling. They were dressed in red, green, and blue 
tunics, fastened at the neck and falling straight down 
over the figure, their heads fascinatingly crowned with 
yellow flowers that brought out the tints of their hair 

78 


From North to South 

and skin. Equally beautiful young men followed 
and joined them, and they laughed and joked together. 
They were dressed in a kind of cotton goods. An 
upper skirt looped up above the hips, leaving the legs 
free ; over this was a shirt like those worn in Europe, 
which was left flowing loosely. Behind their ears they 
wore ornaments that Gaspero said were called “ horo.” 
Each was a stick seven to nine inches long. At one 
end of the stick were fastened the leaves of a mountain 
orchid, and at the other the corolla of a gardenia. 

Gaspero told all this to Ivan, who was anxious to 
learn, and never stopped asking questions. 

“ It is curious ; it seems as if at Papeete there is 
nothing but good humor everywhere.” 

“ Don’t admire that too much ; it is a gayety that 
lasts the greater part of the night ; but it is a mislead- 
ing gayety.” 

“ What do you mean by that ? ” 

“ It is the result of a wine they drink, made from 
oranges. Drinking this is strictly prohibited by the 
French government, under whose protection these 
islands are. But the natives make it secretly.” 

As they turned a corner they found their passage 
79 


The Little Lead Soldier 


blocked, so they were obliged to turn off and go 
through a grove of palms in order to get back to the 
road. 

“ What is happening ? ” asked Ivan. 

“ A Taitian is moving. Here if one wishes to move 
he doesn’t change houses, but he moves his house from 
one place to another.” 

“ Ah, now you are fooling.” 

“ Stand still and see for yourself.” 

“Sure enough, it is true. What a nonsensical 
idea.” For the first time in months Ivan laughed 
heartily. 

Paofei’s house stood in the midst of a group of cocoa 
trees ; all about were fountains and streams and beauti- 
ful flowers. Some children crowned with flowers were 
singing accompanied by a young man, and Paofei was 
sipping a drink brought to him by a young French- 
man who had recently come to the island and who was 
then present. 

Gaspero and Ivan were heartily welcomed and were 
given bananas and a kind of sweet made of nuts and 
grated cocoa, also strange liqueurs. 

After that there were dances in honor of the stran- 
8o 


From North to South 


gers. A young girl started rhythmically to the sound 
of a tambourine and a young man danced around her. 
When they were tired another couple took their place ; 
and so it was kept up to a late hour. When Ivan tried 
to rise he felt a strange weakness in his legs ; it seemed 
to him as if he were swaying about like the dancing 
girls. He had to take hold of Gaspero until the earth 
felt firm beneath his feet again. 

There were many such festivities during the days 
they were on the island. The gayest of all was on the 
evening before they were to leave. It was at the house 
of a Frenchman who had lived there so long he was 
almost a Taitian. Gaspero was old and prudent and 
knew how to be moderate, but Ivan was young and had 
been a long time without any pleasures ; he had lived 
so much among icebergs and fisherman’s ships and 
poor cabins on the coast of Brittany. When Gaspero 
begged him to come away he was obstinate and refused 
to go. Gaspero grew desperate. The boat was to sail 
at dawn, and it was so late at night they hardly had 
time to reach the shore where the boat waited for them, 
that was to take them out to the ship. Ivan sang so 
loud it seemed as though his throat would burst. At 

8i 


The Little Lead Soldier 


last Qaspero tried to take him away by force and, 
lifting him on his back, tried to carry him to the 
shore. A regular tussle resulted. Gaspero could 
hardly walk, as Ivan was no longer responsible for what 
he did, and kicked and 
tossed so that Gaspero 
couldn't hold him and at 
last let him fall to the 
ground. Ivan tried to 
rise, but couldn’t. His 
knees shook, 
his head swam 
around horridly. 

He fell back on f 
the ground and 
went to sleep. 

Then Gaspero 
lifted him again on his back and carried him. 

But — but — my children, the poor little soldier was 
left behind in the grass — on the island of Taiti. 

The ribbon that was tied to me was broken in the 
struggle, and as Gaspero lifted Ivan I fell out of his 
pocket to the ground. 




82 


From North to South 

Again 1 had lost a beloved friend, and once more I 
found myself condemned to a frightful end without 
hope of finding any sort of life so much to my liking 
as my recent one had been. I had loved my wander- 
ings, with the continual change of places and people. 
Now I had nothing more to hope for. From my heart 
I sent up a prayer to the beneficent fairies who be- 
friend the wretched, to send me a liberator or at least 
to give me the ability to move myself. If I could 
only get my legs free from the iron rods that were put 
inside to hold them straight. Sometimes I thought I 
could feel a slight power in them, and I struggled with 
all my might to get out of the tuft of grass in which I 
lay. I had a vague hope, too, that Ivan might dis- 
cover my loss, but if he should miss me it would be 
too late to do anything. Again I besought my good 
genius for the power to move, so as not to be con- 
demned to stay forever on this island, so picturesque 
and beautiful to visit but tiresome to stay in always 
if one were used to a roving life. 

What would I have done if I could have moved ? 
Who knows? I didn’t have an idea, but I felt certain 

that if I could move I would have enough ingenuity to 
83 


The Little Lead Soldier 


devise some method of getting out of my trouble, and I 
felt I would dare to do anything to succeed. 

I made all sorts of plans as to what I would do if my 
legs should begin to stir of themselves, and I tired my- 
self out thinking that I had run miles and miles until 
I fell asleep, and had all sorts of visions such as I had 
never dreamed before. 


84 



VIII. At Queen Pomare’s Court 













CHAPTER VIII 
AT QUEEN POMARE’S COURT 

N OW it seemed that I was in a burning desert, 
where I was suffocated by the sand, and I 
could feel myself melting little by little. Then it 
seemed as though I were trampled under the hoofs of 
ferocious wild beasts ; then suddenly I would see 
Renato again, but in a large house full of treasures, 
where there were crowds of gay children playing 
games and holding festivals. Then the scenes changed 
and became indefinite. And then, at last, I found I 
could move my legs and that I could walk. 

87 


The Little Lead Soldier 


Ju8t think how happy I was. I wish I could find 
words to tell you with what anxiety I tried to take my 
first step. My prayer had been answered. The good 
fairy had given me the gift of motion. Perhaps he 
had pitied my helplessness, and as he had given me 
intelligence he now wished me to be able to get about 
without some one to carry me. 

Naturally it took a long time to get to the shore. I 
had hoped to find a way of reaching the ship before it 
sailed, but I was too late. I heard a sharp whistle, 
then a second one, and I saw the smoke, so I knew the 
ship had weighed anchor and sailed away. 

It was useless to think of that any longer. What 
could I do next ? Should I go back to the houses I 
had just left, enjoy the beauties of the island for a 
while and wait for a chance to go away ? 

My legs were very tired ; I had walked for hours in 
the opposite direction from the house of Paofei and, 
tired out, I lay down on the bank of a river in the 
shade of a breadfruit tree. 

While I lay there I saw several negroes carrying 
baskets toward the port and returning for more 

baskets. I was so curious to find out where they went 
88 



I WAS TOO LATE 



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At Queen Pomare’s Court 

and what they carried that I followed them, but try as 
I might my steps would not keep up with theirs. 

They stopped in front of the most beautiful house I 
had seen. It had a double row of columns in front, 
and European windows, and was in the midst of a large 
garden like a park with a fountain and every possible 
beauty. 

I crept inside very cautiously through the principal 
door, found myself in a large room where lying on a 
mat was a lady, not very young, dressed like a 
European. She had a clear complexion and a kind, 
sympathetic face and beside her knelt a woman in the 
costume of the country who was showing her all sorts 
of objects that she took from an inlaid box — fans, 
various colored silk stuffs, porcelain vases, Chinese 
objects and many little things that ladies love to have 
on their tables. 

“It is a beautiful gift that the good Princess Badoure 
has sent me.” 

“ Yes, your Majesty,” replied the younger lady. 

Now I knew that I was at the court of Queen 
Pomare, although I wondered at the simplicity of the 

room and furniture, and I resolved to observe every- 
89 


The Little Lead Soldier 


thing closely, hoping to overhear something that would 
help me to make a plan for getting away. 

“ I’m afraid we can’t repay the munificence of the 
Chinese princess.” 

“The Princess Badoure knows very well that our 
manufacturers do not make such precious stuffs as the 
Chinese; we are thankful to the friendly princess, 
but . . 

“ You have sent many baskets of fruit ? ” 

“ Yes, your Majesty, a ship passing by Papeete will 
stop here to leave a new French envoy, and will then 
return to China. We will ask the captain to carry our 
friendly offering to the beautiful Badoure.” 

The queen was satisfied with that, and went out 
rapidly and saw that the negroes were preparing 
baskets of fruits and aloes in a large hut standing at 
the right of the royal palace that served as a store- 
house. They selected the best oranges and bananas 
and all the fruits the island produced and filled the 
baskets made of banana leaves interlaced with the 
leaves of other plants, arranging everything so that the 
air could circulate freely. When they had filled six 

baskets each with a few dozen bananas and a dozen or 
90 


At Queen Pomare’s Court 

80 of oranges they carried them to the port, and I con- 
cluded that if they could carry them so quickly the 
ship could not be far off and would be detained only a 
short time ; and I was right. The sound of the firing 
of a cannon announced the signaling of the ship. 

“I believe your Majesty wishes to send to the 
Chinese princess the large branch of coral and the 
pearl lately found in the shell. I must inform your 
Majesty that we must be prompt, so that I am starting 
at once with everything in the canoe to avoid making 
more than one trip.” 

I heard one of the negroes say this to Queen Pomare, 
and realized there was no time to lose. There were 
only twelve little baskets of oranges still to be carried. 
If I lost this opportunity I might not find another. I 
wished to get away at any cost ; for I will not deny it, 
my children, I dreamed of returning to Europe, if pos- 
sible to France, and although I might have a chance 
of seeing so many more countries, what I wanted was 
to return to the old world. But the more I thought 
about it the more powerless I felt. It would be per- 
ilous to let myself be seen, for I might perish in the 
hands of the Taitian children. 

91 


The Little Lead Soldier 


What then ? Suddenly an idea struck me that made 
me smile. I would get into one of the baskets ; there 
was one quite near me. Very cautiously and quietly 
I crawled through the spaces of the interlacing leaves 
and worked along, stretching myself from one orange 
to another. I cannot truthfully say that I was com- 
fortable, but when I had once been carried aboard the 
ship I could roam about as I pleased and reenter my 



prison in time for the unloading. You must remem- 
ber that I had never traveled outside my master’s 
92 


At Queen Pomare’s Court 

pocket, and there were many things I did not know 
about. So after being knocked around among the 
oranges and between the baskets I wanted very much 
to get out and take the air. I began jumping toward 
the steps that led to the deck. Alas 1 I forgot that I 
was only a little lead soldier, very small indeed, and 
it was impossible for me to get up the steep steps. 
That meant that I had to stay down there with the 
freight during all the voyage. I can assure you it did 
not strike me as pleasant. 

One night I was seized with a great fear. The ship 
tossed indescribably ; a deafening noise becoming 
louder and louder seemed to overwhelm me. I did not 
understand where it came from, whether from the deck 
or underneath. Suppose the ship should go to pieces. 
It grew more terrible, a wail like the noise of many 
voices calling for pity. I could not remain in my hid- 
ing place, as the oranges crushed me. I tried to get 
out, but was thrown from ball to ball. I was bruised, 
but couldn’t help myself. From the bridge could be 
heard desperate voices and cries of command. Every- 
where was terrible confusion. This state of anxiety 
lasted many hours ; then calm returned, and the days 
93 


The Little Lead Soldier 

before we reached our port near Pekin passed quietly 
enough. 

One day I realized that the machinery had stopped, 
and after a little the porters began carrying out the 
cargo and two sailors came for the baskets her Majesty, 
the Queen Pomare, had sent to the Princess Badoure. 

The captain went to the palace so that he might 
himself present the superb pearl and the branch of 
coral. 


94 






I 


IX. In China 



I ♦ 



0 






CHAPTER IX 
IN CHINA 



ONCEALED in my hiding place, I could not 


see where I was taken, neither the roads nor the 


entrance to the palace. 

But I was in China, in that country which had been 
so long a land of mystery to the European. And for- 
tune had placed me in the midst of one of those 
sumptuous palaces that seemed to be built by super- 
natural beings. I could not discover any way of get- 
ting outside to see and admire the country. I could 
hear the sweet voice of a young girl speaking a lan- 
guage I did not understand, but the interpreter ex- 
plained it in French to the captain, so I made out 
that she was thanking Queen Pomare for the ex- 
quisite fruit and rare pearl. She ordered one of the 
baskets to bo opened and the fruit to be piled in a 
cabinet near the room where she passed many hours of 
the day embroidering silk flowers and queer birds, 
making up bouquets and preparing refreshing drinks. 


97 


The Little Lead Soldier 

As soon as I knew that the captain and interpreter 
had gone I wished to see the princess, and to try to go 
about the palace and around the city. I put my head 
outside very cautiously and found that I was in a beau- 
tiful bath room. There was a large tub of black mar- 
ble at one side, and all around stood little tables cov- 
ered with bottles and perfumery, and a quantity of 
cushions were piled in one corner. A pale rose damask 
curtain hung between the adjoining room and the 
cabinet in which I found myself, and I could hear the 
sweet voice of the princess, who spoke in short sen- 
tences and little words. 

I stole behind the curtain and went into the large 
room, remaining hidden behind a porcelain vase which 
held a bunch of roses. From here I saw everything. 
I did not think the princess handsome, but allowing 
for the difference between the Asiatic and European 
faces I was sure that she was one of the most attractive 
of the Chinese women. She had a full face and a 
small nose, and her almond shaped eyes seemed to fill 
most of her face. She wore her hair in a knot at the 
neck with a quantity of pins stuck in it. Large strings 

of pearls were about her arms and neck, and she wore 
98 


In China 



waist with an embroidered belt. 

She lay half stretched out on a pile of cushions of 
the same color as the portidre. Many other cushions 
were scattered around the room, the floor was covered 
with a very rich Persian rug, and into this I nearly 
sank. 


99 


The Little Lead Soldier 


She talked with a young woman who passed little 
tid-bits to her now and then, and they laughed to- 
gether and made bunches of flowers which the 
younger woman placed in the vases of the room. 

I wandered all over the palace. It was immense, 
and everywhere was a profusion of riches, ivory and 
porcelain, soft silks curiously embroidered, mountains 
of cushions, everything of luxury that life could 
offer. 

I saw the rooms reserved for the mother of the 
princess who, like the daughter, was lying down lazily, 
and I also saw the apartments of the prince, which 
occupied the largest part of the palace. 

These rooms were full of ornaments; on the walls 
hung draperies of silk and satin on which sentences 
were written. 

Among the furniture there were screens and pictures 
and beautiful lanterns hung from the ceilings. I 
entered at last into one of the inside temples called 
Miaio. 

I visited the park, the gardens and the stables and 
then, very tired, I returned to Princess Badoure’s room 
after a day spent traveling around the city. 

lOO 


In China 


In the morning early I left the palace and took a 
long road full of people ; I glided close to the houses 
so as to escape being seen, and found myself in a large 
square where many people were gathered gesticulating. 
I was curious and hid myself in the crowd, and on 
account of my small size I easily entered the center of 
the group. A poorly dressed man was bound at his 
wrists and was kneeling down, while another with a 
big stick prepared to strike him. I could not under- 
stand why, but some words spoken in French by two 
sailors made me understand that he had killed some 
animals without permission. Perhaps it was a work- 
ing ox, and this is a great crime in China where 
agriculture is held in greater honor than in any other 
country. Even the Emperor once every year cultivates 
a field, and the animals that aid in this cultivation are 
treated as the friends of man. 

A woman, perhaps the wife of the prisoner, talked 
with a bad looking man in ragged clothes and another 
older one entreated the man with the stick in his 
hand to wait a few minutes. 

Finally the younger woman gave some money to the 
ragged fellow, who agreed to take the whipping, while 

lOI 


The Little Lead Soldier 

the bands were taken off the man who knelt, and he 
went off happily. 

I was wondering how it happened and finally, from 
the conversation of the sailors near me, I learned what 
was the reason for the strange change. It seems this 
is the way justice is practiced in China. It matters 
little who is to blame or who gets punished. If the 
condemned man has money enough he can easily find 
some starving fellow to take his whipping. Some- 
times he can even find some one willing to give up his 
life and in this way earn a blessing for his family. A 
strange method of justice I 

The poor fellow raised himself with difficulty after 
the strokes, as justice shows no pity. I was very sorry 
for him, but I was curious to know what he would do 
next, so I stayed to watch. As soon as he could move 
he went off toward a poor quarter of the city, where he 
bought some rice, which the Chinese sow in the mud, 
where it rapidly reproduces itself. Then he indulged 
in the luxury of a duck prepared according to the 
custom of the country, by being dried between two 
stones. Then after getting some oranges and bananas 

he knocked at the door of a hut which was opened to 
102 


In China 


him by a thin, poorly dressed woman holding a little 
child by the hand. At the sight of all this food the 
woman began to cry, not from joy, however, for she saw 
from her husband’s face how he had come by this 
provision. 

At last the wife calmed down, and while she put the 
things away the father played with the little boy, and 
caressed a little girl about seven years old, who was 
seated on an old bed. 

I thought she might be ill, but looking at her 
closely I understood what the trouble was. The little 
one wore bandages on her feet attached to an iron 
shoe, a device they put on girls to keep their feet from 
growing. It deforms them, of course, and turns their 
feet into stumps without grace or beauty, but for this 
the Chinese do not seem to care. This barbarous 
custom has existed for many centuries, and the 
Chinese preserve it, thinking it gives to girls a finish- 
ing touch of attraction. 

I lived for months in the garden of the Princess 
Badoure, and I began to understand the language 
while hiding behind the furniture and passing the 

nights in the park. I lived in an enviable state of 
103 


The Little Lead Soldier 


peacefulness, when a strange event occurred, and 
changed me for a time into a motionless piece of lead, 
but gave me in exchange the gift of speech. 

This is what happened. One evening while I was 
looking at the white swan floating on the stream that 
ran under the trees of the park I saw a black boat 
coming toward me with two persons in it, one rowing 
and one steering. They stopped just in front of the 
little door that led to the apartment of the princess. 
One of them got out and standing by the door gave a 
long, sharp whistle. Pretty soon the door opened and 
the princess came out, her head wrapped in a thick 
veil. She got into the boat, followed by a servant and 
the man who had whistled. The servant took the 
oars and the boat soon disappeared down the stream 
and was gone for two hours. Then the princess and the 
servant who opened the door with a key went inside 
the palace and the boat glided away and all was silent. 

This happened every evening for several days, and 
when I was inside the palace I saw that the princess 
wept bitterly and threw herself on the cushions when 
she reached her room after coming in from the boat. 

I was full of curiosity, and longed to understand the 
104 


In China 


mystery. I knew that the women of China are 
guarded closely, and this going out at night was very 
strange. I kept my ears open to hear all the con- 
versation of the servants, but Abdallah, the Mussul- 
man servant, was very secretive, so that nothing ever 
leaked out to the ears of the other servants of the 
princess or the maids of the princess' mother. 

One evening the princess went out alone and the 
unknown man who called her sent away the boat. I 
stood as I always did on a tuft of grass near the river. 
They seated themselves on a rustic seat near me and 
then I could understand enough to solve the mystery. 
The unknown man was the son of a rich gentleman, 
but was not, however, a great dignitary of the court. 
Still, the princess had been promised in marriage to 
him. In China it often happens that the betrothed do 
not see each other, but this man had seen his fiancee 
and fallen in love with her. Just then his father had 
fallen into disgrace with the prince, and the engage- 
ment was broken, to the great grief of both, so now 
that they could not endure their lives without seeing 
each other, they were helped to meet by two faithful 


servants. 


105 


The Little Lead Soldier 


But poor Badoure did not suspect that she was in 
love with an infamous traitor, nor could she imagine 
that she was to be saved from bitter remorse and sor- 
row by a little piece of lead. 

It amused me so to watch when anything strange 
was going on that I never missed any of those meet- 
ings, and one evening I went a little earlier than usual 
to observe the lovers. As I waited a boat appeared 
bringing four masked men, who got out and hid them- 
selves in the park, then another boat came with four 
more men and then another, then Badoure’s fianc6 
arrived in a fourth boat. He clapped his hands 
lightly and drew the twelve men together, talking to 
them earnestly for a long time, and never dreaming 
that an invisible ear could hear all that was said. 

What I heard made me shudder. I trembled as I 
thought of the plot. What could I do to save this 
peaceful family from the wickedness of this man ? He 
had hidden his followers near the door where the 
princess came out ; she was to be seized and her serv- 
ant killed. They were then to steal into the palace 
through the princess’ room and the rooms of the prince 

and the mother princess and all were to be murdered 
io6 


In China 


without pity. More men were paid to surround the 
palace and wait for a given signal to enter, this being 
the placing of torches in the windows. All their plans 
were perfect — but they had not counted on Tam- 
burino. 

My one desire was to reveal the plot at whatever 
cost. I was filled with fury at the thought of the 
infamy of the man that would betray the affections of 
a woman for the sake of avenging a just punishment 
indicted on his father, and my feeling gave me strength 
and courage far beyond my size. 

I ran, jumped and leaped to the great entrance of 
the palace. 

First I went into the vestibule, attached myself to 
the chain that rang the alarum bell and pulled it 
hard. Then, as the bell rang out, with tremendous 
effort I went into the apartment of the princess, which 
I reached just as she stopped at the door, surprised at 
the unexpected alarum. 

In an instant every one in the palace was on foot. 

They ran from room to room, unable to understand 
who had rung and what had happened. The princess 

was in great trouble, and I knew well enough that I 
107 


The Little Lead Soldier 


had not sufficiently revealed the plot. But it was 
enough for that evening, and all I could do. 

If I could only speak one word. I prayed with all 
my might that I might be useful. My good genius 
had listened to me once before, and now — I felt that I 
could speak 1 

With that I scrambled on to a table and told the 
princess all I knew. She was alarmed at the sight of 
the little soldier, horrified at all he told her, not only 
that she had been so deceived, but the thought of the 
danger to the lives of her parents. 

“ Lead me to them, little friend, but swear that you 
will not tell my secret. Say only that these men are 
thieves.” 

Alas, with the power of speech I had lost the use of 
my legs. I could make little motions, but I could not 
walk ten steps. 

But she lost no time. She went directly to the 
place where the traitors were stationed, had them 
taken and bound, and the next day they were hung in 
the square. 


X. 


In the Chinese Court 



« 

V 


i 

,1 


■'* 

I 




CHAPTER X 

IN THE CHINESE COURT 

F rom that day I was surrounded with devotion. 

The mother of the princess, the Prince and 
Princess Badoure all adored me. They kept me al- 
ways with them. I was even taken to the Imperial 
court, where the prince held a high position, being a 
famous mandarin who had many friends and knew 
much about diplomacy. 

There was constant coming and going from the 
apartments of the princess to those of the mother and 
father, and also from the prince’s palace to the Imperial 
court. I went to see the festivals and dinners, but I 
was happiest when with the princess. She told me all 
the sorrow caused by the treachery of her lover, for in 
spite of his infamy she wept at his death. 

I consoled her as well as I could. I told her about 
my travels and all I had seen, and described our 

HI 


The Little Lead Soldier 


European houses and furniture, the customs of the 
women, and the way they dressed. She was full of 
enthusiasm, and wondered at the liberty they enjoyed, 
and at how they could be out without a chaperone and 
attend dances and balls. She longed to take a trip to 
Europe, where she might be distracted and cease to 
think of the past. 

About this time the prince went away on an embassy 
to the king of Persia, and was absent many months. 
When he came back he rested and refreshed himself, 
and then sent for the mother of the princess and said : 

“ My wife, fortune has smiled on our house.” 

“ And in what way, Sire? ” 

“ The most powerful monarch of Persia has learned 
that we have a beautiful daughter, trained in every 
virtue, and he has deigned to take her as wife for his 
first-born son. 

“ Your daughter will then become queen of Persia, 
and soon, as the powerful ruler of Persia is tired of 
reigning, and will abdicate in favor of his son.” 

Badoure's mother wept for joy, and ran to tell the 
good news to her daughter who, however, did not 
show much enthusiasm. 


II2 


In the Chinese Court 

She told me afterward that she still treasured 
the memory of her traitor lover, and she also said that 
I had made her long to see Europe and perhaps to live 
there. 

I tried as hard as I could to comfort her, and 
succeeded by telling her that when she was queen of 
Persia she could ask the king to take her to France 
and Italy. So she yielded and was very grateful to 
me for my advice. 



“ I shall never leave you, you know, my dear Tam- 
burino ; you and my dove shall always follow me,” the 
princess said. 

Badoure adored a dove she had which her faithful 
Abdallah had trained to count the hours, cooing as 

113 


The Little Lead Soldier 


many times as the clock struck, and to fly to the arm 
of her mistress when she called, and to pick rice from 
her plate, and to do a thousand little tricks. 

There were now endless festivals in the prince’s 
palace. Boats illuminated in every fantastic way 
floated on the river. Some carried minstrels, making 
gay music beneath the trees of the park, others carried, 
under silk awnings, guests who enjoyed many little 
delicacies at the tables, others drifted carrying the 
jovial fellows who had stuffed themselves with fish 
fins, swallows’ nests, eggs and sweets. 

In the drawing-room there were men and women 
dancers ; in the shady walks servants offered refresh- 
ment-— joy reigned everywhere. The Emperor deigned 
to attend the last f§te, presenting to the Princess 
Badoure a pearl necklace fit for the future queen of 
Persia. 

The day for her to go away arrived. Everything 
was ready, and many boats waited in the neighboring 
ports to carry the immense amount of baggage which 
she and her father were to take to her lord and 
husband. 

I was confided to the care of Abdallah, who 
1 14 


In the Chinese Court 

sailed in the vessel carrying the most precious ob- 
jects. 

So on a splendid spring morning we left Pekin to 
set sail from the nearest port, accompanied by the 
cheers and good wishes of the happy crowd. 






XL On the Way to Persia 












CHAPTER XI 

ON THE WAY TO PERSIA 

B ehold me on the way to Persia 1 The journey 
promised to be long, for whenever we stopped 
for coal or provisions there were celebrations with 
music, illuminations and dinners. And everywhere 
deputies waited on the future queen to beg her to stop 
over in that city. 

The magnificent and most powerful king of Siam 
ordered more spectacular festivals than we saw any- 
where else and he offered presents to the princess truly 
worthy of the king that he was. 

So after many days of travel we doubled the 
peninsula of Malacca and entered the Bay of Bengal, 
We were to stop a few days in Ceylon, where the 
prince wanted to make some purchases. Abdallah 
took great care of me, knowing how dear I was to his 
little princess, and fearing that I might suffer he bad 
taken me out of the jewelry box and kept me on his 

bureau near his swinging bed. 

1 19 


The Little Lead Soldier 


One day Abdallah didn’t feel well, and so he lay 
down, feeling sure his sickness would soon pass. But 
by the end of the day he had a high fever. Before go- 
ing to bed he said to me : 

“ Listen, Tamburino, before I go to bed you must 
promise me that you will not move. I may be ill for 
several days, and I don’t wish to make you uncom- 
fortable by shutting you up in the jewelry box. You 
may keep me company and talk to me, but only when 
we are alone. Don’t let any one else on board know 
what you can do, for some one might carry you off 
while I am asleep.” 

” Don’t be afraid,” I answered, and I decided not to 
speak a word, whatever might happen. 

But Abdallah’s sickness grew worse, the fever in- 
creased, and the doctor on board could find no remedy. 

They spoke of letting the princess know, but they 
were afraid of interrupting the journey, so poor 
Abdallah continued to grow worse. No one knew 
anything about him, and even I could not rouse him. 
So he died while the sailor set to watch him slept 
soundly. 

The next day there was great consternation. What 
120 


On the Way to Persia 

should they do? Was it better to tell the prince or 
not ? The majority voted not to tell, and they pre- 
pared for the funeral very stealthily, so that no idea 
of the misfortune should reach the other ship on 
which were the prince and princess. 

Abdallah’s body was carried beneath a cover by two 
strong sailors, and a third proceeded immediately to 
clean out his cabin, as he had had a contagious disease 
and it was necessary to bury all his belongings with 
him. The sailor gave the jewel box and other valuable 
things to a faithful servant of the princess, and every- 
thing which was not thrown into the sea was dis- 
infected. 

Everything, including me, was carried to the deck 
with Abdallah’s body. You may imagine my excite- 
ment. How I now regretted my lost ability to move. 
What strange destiny awaited me ? 

The sailors joked and passed me from one to another, 
wondering why Abdallah had taken care of such a 
strange plaything. Then they threw me a long dis- 
tance from the place where the burial service was, and 
I hoped to stay there forgotten until I could think 
of a plan by which I could again make myself 

I2I 


The Little Lead Soldier 

known and get back to the care of the princess* 
family. 

Abdallah was sewed up in a sheet, a cannon-ball was 
fastened to his feet, songs and prayers, such as are used 
by Buddhists, were said over him, and he was lowered 
into the sea. The water opened and closed, forming 
large circles which grew less and less. And then the 
boat sailed on, and nothing more could be seen of the 
grave of Abdallah. All the 
clothes and things belonging to 
him were also thrown into the 
water, but I was left forgotten be- 
hind a coil of rope. I was very 
glad of that, but I was glad too 
soon. 

A wretched deck hand picked 
me up with a smile whose mean- 
ing I couldn’t understand, for so 



122 


On the Way to Persia 

far I hadn’t spoken a word, and I was sure that no one 
knew about me. So I thought I would keep still and 
study his character and after I knew something about 
him I would promise him a reward if he would take 
me back to Princess Badoure. 


123 


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XII. Tamburino Falls Into Bad Hands 




CHAPTER XII 

TAMBUEINO FALLS INTO BAD HANDS 

“ X OY is a passing smoke,” some one has said, and 
I so indeed was mine. When I understood what 
was to happen it was too late to save myself. 

This fellow was passionately fond of fishing, as in- 
deed all Chinese are. Although he had been forbidden 
to do so he fished on the sly. The captain of the ship 
had been told that the cook was in league with him, 
and furnished him with bait. I couldn’t make out 
what the bad boy was going to do. I saw that he tied 
one end of a silk thread to the chain of the anchor but 
I had never seen that kind of fishing, and I didn’t 
guess how I was to be of use. Then when he tied me 
to the other end of the silk I was filled with misgiv- 
ing, and when I saw the fish-hook tied not far from me 
I was overcome with fright. I tried to speak, but I 
was too late ; the boy had thrown me into the water, 
and my small voice was swallowed up by the depths 
of the sea. 


127 


The Little Lead Soldier 


Dragged furiously through the water by the speed 
of the ship and through myriads of fish I was a secure 
prisoner. A little fish was caught on the hook, but it 
shook itself free, and I was carried along by force, 
desperate, seeing no way of escape. At last the silk 
became weakened at the place I was tied and I watched 
with terrible anxiety as I saw the end of all hope. I 
was like one condemned to be hung, whose only salva- 
tion lay in the possible sudden death of the execu- 
tioner. 

The silk broke and I was precipitated into the 
abyss. 


128 



DRAGGED FURIOUSLY THROUGH THE WATER 





XIII. At the Bottom of the Sea 



CHAPTER XIII 
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA 

H OW long I was falling who knows? It was a 
dreadful sensation, and I could not hope ever 
to rise again. I did not suffer in any way from the 
water, but only from the fear that I should always 
have to stay down there. And indeed how could I 
ever hope to see the sky again ? Was I destined always 
to keep passing from joy to sorrow and never to know 
peace? I had wept over my brothers, but they were 
really happier than I, for if their lives had been short 
they had at least never known anguish like mine. 

For many days I knew nothing of what went on 
around me, but only that I rested softly on the sea- 
weed with immeasurable depths of water above me. I 
was not resigned but calmer, for every terrible fear 
ends in time ; and then I began to look about my new 
dwelling. 

At my right were mountains of rock with high steep 

131 


The Little Lead Soldier 


peaks and large crevices peopled with beings such as I 
had never seen before, which swarmed in hundreds on 
one side of the rocks, while on the other thousands of 
pearl oysters stuck fast. There were enough to make 
a whole nation rich. You see no man had ever yet 
reached this part of the sea, and no unfortunate negroes 
with diving belts had been sent here to risk their lives 
twenty times a day. 

Gigantic fish swept by, making havoc among the 
small fish, and little by little I got used to looking at 
life through this veil of water. Here in the unknown 
depths I saw once more hatred and fury, fear and 
pride. I saw the strong use his strength to overcome 
the weak, and the weak resort to tricks and knavery 
to escape the strong. 

I saw around me graceful fish defending their homes 
from their enemies, and colossal shells that kept watch 
of their prey : strange growths, like fiowers, attached 
to rocks that swallowed all the smaller fish that passed 
near them, and thousands of strange animals. I call 
them animals because I saw them pass and repass, buc 
I did not know whether they were animals or plants. 

They were swaying threads as fine as hair, bound to- 
132 


At the Bottom of the Sea 


gether in bell shape ; and there were beautiful starfish 
and many others I did not know and can't now re- 
member. 

There were long banks of coral and mother-of-pearl, 
some immense as mountains and some beginning to be 
formed, some small, some in groups, some like islands, 
some like continents — and all made by very small be* 
ings who are among the wonders of nature. 

These coral animals work silently but endlessly, and 
are continually renewed. Tiny, fragile creatures, born 
in the depths of the sea, they increase enormously and 
cover the rocks of the ocean, building them into the 
islands of the Pacific. 

All alone in the midst of this life and movement, 
this new world of grandeur, I was profoundly un- 
happy ; and yet I could not help admiring its superb 
beauty, which was waiting to be discovered. What 
happiness was here in store for some poor diver or 
pearl fisher, who, carrying out his dangerous work, 
should discover this wonderful bank of oysters. Here, 
waiting for some one, were all these beautiful “ tears 
of the sea," as oriental poets call pearls. For you must 
know that they come from a kind of disease of the 

133 


The Little Lead Soldier 


oyster. A grain of sand, an egg of a fish or some 
piece of foreign matter gets between the walls of the 
shells and around this is deposited a material which 
grows and develops into the beautiful thing we know 
as a pearl, which all the world prizes and cherishes. 
So this jewel that women delight in is due to the 
sufiering of a tiny animal living at the bottom of the 
sea whose whole world lies inside his own shell. 

A slight movement of the water, never stirred to its 
full depth, aided by the slight movements I could my- 
self accomplish, brought me little by little nearer to the 
oyster bed, and so slowly that I didn’t realize it. I 
found that I had traveled all the way around the rock. 
Here another view was opened before me, more 
terrible, more sad. At a little distance there lay the 
half-destroyed boat of some pearl fishers. The bodies 
of the two negroes lay as though they were asleep 
down there where they had come hoping to capture 
jewels and earn money enough to feed their families. 
But these bodies were not long spared by the dogfish, 
the vultures of the sea, and this boat remained an 
object of curiosity to the fish, and a refuge for the 

shells, which attached themselves to it as to a rock. 

134 


At the Bottom of the Sea 



Now the water carried me along into a mound of 
oysters, and I remained a prisoner in the midst of all 
this treasure. I had said farewell to land, I had 
resigned all hope and waited for my end sadly and 
resentfully. I prayed ardently to be able to regain the 
full use of my legs, for then I could climb the rocks 
and might find a way to get out of the water. 

Was I near the land ? I wondered. Should I not 

135 




The Little Lead Soldier 


be somewhere between Malacca and Ceylon ? If so 
how was it that this beautiful bank had never been 
found ? I had a thousand theories and hopes, but as 
many disappointments. Meanwhile I was as fast to 
the rocks as one of the oysters. 

But my good genius had not forsaken me. Once 
more I was to be saved, and once again I was to see 
the sun in its glory, and not through this impenetrable 
veil. 

At last, after weeks of anxiety, of hope and fear, I 
saw above me a great brown man. He was a diver. 
He had a stone fastened by a rope to his right foot, and 
on the other he had a net bag. With one hand he 
held his nostrils, and with the other he clung fast to 
the rope. He saw at once the treasure that lay at his 
feet, filled his bag with shells, pulled tight on the rope 
and was drawn to the top. Then he reappeared with 
other men, and up and down they went for hours until 
the rock was nearly cleared. 

But the treasure seemed inexhaustible, and I knew 
they would come again, so hope sustained me. I was 
certain I should be found, as I lay close to a beautiful 

oyster. But before my release I was to see one of those 
136 


At the Bottom of the Sea 

tragedies to which these pearl divers are always ex- 
posed. 

One of the men who had gone up and down for the 
tenth time, happy in the thought of his reward, had 
filled his sack and was preparing to go up when from 
behind him appeared a shoal of dogfish. Suddenly 
he saw them, and seized the rope desperately ; it was 
pulled quickly, but not soon enough. The highway- 
men of the sea leapt upon him, and the poor man 
knew no more. The rope was drawn up without him. 

That day no one else came down, and for many days 
there was no more fishing. Again I lost hope. 

Still, there were many oysters in that place. Would 
they give them up? At last some one ventured again, 
then came another and another, and the work went on 
quickly once more. So far only the shells at the top 
had been taken, and the extraordinary beauty of those 
underneath had not been noticed. But at last by 
accident one man came lower and discovered the 
beauties waiting him, and he came again and again. 

And so after a while I felt myself in his hands 
gathered up with the oysters I had been lying near so 
long. I seemed to him as strange as if I were a case 

137 


The Little Lead Soldier 


of books at the bottom of the sea, but he did not drop 
me, and carried me up to the light. 

Oh, the joy of that experience I No one can imagine 
how I trembled on seeing once again the glory of the 
sun’s rays. According to my calculation I had been 
in the sea a year, and I was dazzled by the splendor of 
the sun, which shone like diamonds on the water. I 
was happier than I had ever been before, and when 
the negro threw me into the boat, expecting to find 
out later where the little soldier came from, I couldn’t 
resist saying “ thank you.” 

The man who had found me may have regarded me 
as a supernatural being, or he may only have thought 
to make money out of me, but he was evidently afraid 
of losing me. He took me up again, wiped me off 
carefully, looked me all over, and begged me to speak 
once more. So before them all as they lay resting about 
me I told my story in a feeble voice, grown weak from 
my long silence. 

“ I know that story,” one of them said. 

” Why, how is that? ” asked another. 

” Don’t you remember how the Princess Badoure, 

now queen of Persia, stopped at Ceylon ? Every one 
138 


At the Bottom of the Sea 

talked of the sorrow of the princess at the loss of a 
little toy of which she was fond.” 

“ It was I. Poor princess ! she would certainly give 
a large reward to any one bringing me back to her.” 

“Do you believe it?” whispered the one who had 
found me. 

“ Pm certain of it,” I said. 

He thought it over by himself, while the others 
besieged me with questions. After a while he was 
convinced that I was not a god of the sea. Then he 
took courage and spoke to the owner of the boat. 

“ Master,” he said, “ since Fortune has smiled on me 
to-day, will you be as generous ? ” 

“ What do you ask ? ” 

“ I will give you my son for a year without pay to 
fish in my place if you will give me in exchange the 
oyster I picked up at the same time as this wonderful 
toy. I will not open the oyster now. If there is a 
pearl inside so much the better. If not, so much the 
worse. But I should like to be free for a year.” 

“ You ask too much ; I may be giving you a 
fortune.” 

“ Who knows ? But you know my boy is skilful, 

139 


The Little Lead Soldier 
and the bank from which I took the oyster has thou- 
sands like it.” 

“ Well, may the gods give you luck. I suppose you 
wish to carry the plaything to the queen of Persia.” 

“ Yes, master.” 

“ And with it the pearl ? ” 

“ If there is one.” 

” Very well ; to-morrow your son may fish in your 
place.” 

“ May God bless you.” 

You may imagine, children, with what anxiety the 
fisherman opened the oyster when he reached his 
cabin. He had told the story to his wife and children 
and they stood about him waiting for the result of the 
bargain that might mean the beginning of a true 
fortune. Indeed even I was interested. I had at last 
brought a blessing to this poor family. 

The oyster was opened and, marvelous to relate, it 
had in it the most perfect and brilliant pearl that a 
fisherman of Ceylon had found in many years. His 
joy was so great he overwhelmed me with blessings. 

“ But donH forget, my son, I have bought this pearl 

with a year of your hard work and, if I sell it, it may 
140 


At the Bottom of the Sea 

bring less than I could earn in a year. And we must 
faithfully keep the agreement with the master.” 

“ You may be sure I will do that,” the boy an- 
swered. 

The pearl was polished until it was magnificent in 
brilliancy. I was sewed up in a little bag attached to 
a leather string that the fisherman passed around his 
neck, and the next day he started for Persia. 


XIV. Treachery 




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CHAPTER XIV 


TEEACHERY 

I WAS not really comfortable in my little bag lying 
on the brown breast of my rescuer, but the thought 
that I was on my way to a splendid court and would 
again be near the Princess Badoure made me endure 
my prison patiently. Indeed, I had learned to adapt 
myself to all circumstances during my life of ad- 
venture. 

I ought to say that sometimes he took me out of my 
bag, when no one could see me, and tried to make me 
talk. But they were short respites. Almost im- 
mediately he put me away again, he was so afraid of 
being seen. 

From my prison I heard all that he said, and I 
learned that he expected to make the journey on foot, 
getting a ride now and then in a cart for a few cents. 

The journey was long — fearfully long, and the negro 
felt the seriousness of it. The peninsula of Hindustan 

is large and dangerous, and after he crossed that it was 
145 


The Little Lead Soldier 

still a long way to Teheran, where the king of Persia 
lives. Shut in as I was I can’t describe what happened 
on that trip. 

On the frontier of Persia he met a Mussulman 
merchant with whom he struck up a friendship, and 
who promised to guide him so that he could shorten 
his journey. He offered the use of one of his camels 
without pay, as he had just sold out all his wares and 
was on his way to Teheran to buy more. 

My good man was touched by his courtesy, and did 
not see through the crafty Mussulman, who suspected 
there was some mystery, and thought by being so 
polite he would make the negro reveal his secret. 

Nevertheless, the fisherman said nothing, and suc- 
ceeded in making the merchant believe that he was 
traveling to Persia to find a rich brother. 

One evening the Mussulman persuaded him to drink 
some Greek wine that he was carrying to a rich Chris- 
tian. It was exquisite wine that he had bought on his 
last journey to Athens, for which he was to receive 
such a good price that he could afford to give a bottle 
to a friend. The fisherman allowed himself to be per- 
suaded, but resolved not to drink more than one glass. 

146 


Treachery 

But the merchant gave him little cakes and dried 
fruits, also from Greece, and chocolates and candies 
from Europe, until before he knew it the negro had 
drunk the whole bottle. 

This loosened his tongue a little, but not enough to 
please the merchant. Still between laughing and 
joking he let out the fact that he was carrying some- 
thing precious to the queen of Persia. By the time 
the merchant asked what the object was the poor negro 
was sound asleep, with his head on the table. 

The Mussulman asked no more questions. He laid 
him on a straw bed, and began to search him carefully. 
Soon he began to be impatient, and not finding any- 
thing he was concluding that it was only the wine that 
had put the queen of Persia into the man's head, when 
he felt the little bag under his hand. He opened it 
quickly, with hands trembling partly with the curios- 
ity he felt to find out what was inside and partly from 
fear of being found out. He stood still with surprise 
and perplexity on seeing me. 

“ Could this be the precious object? " he asked him- 
self. He was about to close the bag, feeling himself 
betrayed in his greed and curiosity, when he ran his 

147 


The Little Lead Soldier 

finger once more around the inside and there found 
the beautiful pearl which was worth a fortune to the 
fisherman. 

A cruel smile spread over the old man’s face. He 
hesitated whether to take it at once or whether to 
think out a plan by which he could get it without 
running into 
danger. Then 
he put it back, 
not wishing to 
run any risk 
to his life or 
liberty. He 
left the fish- 
erman alone 
until they 
were close to 
the walls of Teheran, and then invited him to a fare- 
well dinner before he should continue on his journey 
to Bagdad. He took him to an inn whose host was a 
famous cook. 

They dined most joyfully, and the merchant brought 

out another bottle of the famous Greek wine, into 
148 



Treachery 

which he had put a drug. The fisherman persisted in 
asking him to share the bottle, but he always refused, 
saying that his religion forbade him to drink, especially 
on that day, which happened to be the birthday of 
Mahomet. The fisherman believed his excuses and 
went on until he had finished the bottle alone. But 
as he drank his last glass he felt very sleepy, and 
though he struggled to keep awake the drug was 
stronger than he, and he fell under the table so sound 
asleep that a cannon shot would not wake him. 

As soon as the merchant was sure that the fisher- 
man was asleep he opened the shirt of the sleeping 
pearl diver and carefully took out the pearl, putting 
in its place an artificial jewel of the same size that 
might at first be mistaken for it. 

All this I had to watch, knowing myself powerless 
to stop him. If I had spoken or moved he would 
have seen that I was the object so precious to the 
princess, and he would have taken me also from the 
unfortunate sleeper. Meanwhile I, at least, was left to 
him, and he might still hope for a rich gift from the 
queen of Persia, who would certainly remember me, 

and reward him for my return. 

149 


The Little Lead Soldier 


When the fisherman awoke he was disgusted with 
himself for having gone to sleep, and he scolded him- 
self to think that he had not enough sense to part from 
the merchant, simply thanking him for his great help 
and kindness. 


150 


XV. The False Pearl 


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III 


• I 




CHAPTER XV 

THE FALSE PEARL 

I WHO now knew so much of the goodness of one 
man and the treachery of the other, was so indig- 
nant I could hardly speak. But I shouted with all 
my might. When he heard my voice he took me from' 
the bag. 

“ What did you say ? ” 

“ I say that you were robbed by that old wretch.” 

“ Robbed of what ? I still have you and the pearl.” 
“ But the pearl is false.” 

” False — false, did you say ? ” 

" Yes, your secret was discovered the evening you 
went to sleep over the Greek wine.” 

“ But I didn't talk ; at least I tried not to.” 

” No, you kept your secret, but you let out that you 
were on your way to the queen of Persia, carrying to 
her something precious, and the old man wanted to 
find out what it was that was worthy of being offered 

153 


The Little Lead Soldier 


to a queen. He poked about you till he found the 
pearl. He did not guess that I was part of the gift.” 

” But why didn't you warn me of the danger? Why 
didn’t you tell me I had been searched ? ” 

” Because I had no opportunity, and I didn’t wish to 
let him know that I was the key that 
was to open the gates of the kingdom 
to you.” 

” You were right. Oh, if I had not 
gone to sleep that second time.” 

” You were not to blame then. I 
am sure he put a sleeping drug in the 
wine. I suspected it when he said he 
would not share it with you.” 

” Oh, the rogue, the murderer, the 
thief.” The poor man beat his head 
and breast with his fist. 

“ Don't despair,” I said ; ** you will 
see that you will still be welcome to 
the Princess Badoure ; and 

L ^ I will not forget to tell her 

of the sacrifice you made so 
as to bring her a gift worthy 

154 



The False Pearl 

of her, beside receiving me from the bottom of the 
sea.” 

So he calmed down and began to put his things in 
order. He bought a new coat with the little money 
he had left, and then with great fear and timidity he 
presented himself at the palace. He was not allowed 
to enter, and the governor of the palace was called to 
see whether he was fit to be received by her Majesty. 

“ Who are you, and where did you come from ? ” he 
asked roughly. 

“ Tell the most powerful queen of Persia that I 
come with news of Tamburino, and that I have come 
from Ceylon on foot to bring it to her.” 

“ Wait here.” 

After a minute the governor of the palace returned 
and in a very different voice said : 

“ Come in, come in, good man, her Majesty, the 
queen, awaits you with impatience.” 

In a beautiful room filled with rare and precious 
objects, her Majesty, the Queen Badoure and her hus- 
band, the magnificent king of Persia, waited for the 
coming of the promised news. The fisherman knocked 
at the door three times ; then, entering, he knelt with 

155 


The Little Lead Soldier 


his arms held out, and kissed the ground before draw- 
ing near to the cushion on which the beautiful Chinese 
princess was reclining. Resting on one knee, he 
stretched out the hand in which he was holding me to 
the wondering Badoure. She recognized me with 
cries of joy. 

“ Good man,” said the king, “ you have conferred 
great happiness on her Grace, my wife, and all that 
you ask shall be given you.” 

Then it was my turn to speak. 

” Most powerful king,” I began, ” this man has come 
on foot from Ceylon, enduring every danger and fatigue 
so that he might bring me in safety to my gracious 
mistress. He found me at the bottom of the sea, into 
which I had been dropped by a rascal of a boy. And 
beside bringing me back he wished to present to her 
Majesty a gift worthy of her beauty. This was a pearl 
which he had bought in exchange for a whole year 
of work by his son, and which was the most perfect 
jewel the sea could produce, larger and more splendid 
than any other found in years. But, alas, your 
Majesty, a thief has robbed him, taking his jewel and 

putting a false one in its place.” 

156 


The False Pearl 


“ Give me his name.” 

“ I do not know it, but he was a Mussulman 
merchant.” 

” Don't distress yourself, my good man,” said the 
king ; ” you shall be well rewarded for your trouble 
and kindness, and you need no longer be a pearl fisher. 
Return home for your family, bring them here, and I 
will find a place for them in my court.” 

After that their Majesties listened while I told my 
story, sympathizing with all I had suffered and assur- 
ing me that now I should have a quiet life filled with 
happiness. 

The fisherman was dressed in fine clothes and given 
a gold purse full of money, and orders were given that 
he should be sent with a retinue of mules to the nearest 
port, where a ship waited for him which would carry 
him to Ceylon and in which he would bring his family 
back to Persia. 

So at last the fisherman was a happy man, and I 
was thankful that it had come to him through his 
kindness to me. 

But as usual I rejoiced too soon. I had forgotten 
the bad Mussulman. Assuming a disguise, he mingled 

157 


The Little Lead Soldier 


with the servants of the palace, and through their 
gossip he learned that I was the precious object that 
had been brought to their Majesties, and that they 
cared nothing about the loss of the pearl. Then he 
was seized with an uncontrollable desire to possess me, 
and he made a plan to carry out his idea. He came 
to the gatekeepers of the palace asking for an audience 
with the queen, saying that he had the most beautiful 
pearl in the world for sale. 

The king, thinking at once that this might be the 
thief, gave orders for him to be admitted, telling the 
guards to keep close watch and to capture the man when 
they should hear the king give the signal, which was 
to be the blowing of a silver horn hanging at his belt. 

In the meantime the merchant, dressed as a rich 
Arab, waited in an apartment where the Princess 
Badoure had placed me in a basket. That was all he 
wanted. He thrust me into his bosom, suffocating my 
voice, too feeble to be heard, and went off without 
waiting for the return of the servants. No signal 
having been given he passed out in safety, and went to 
a little house, where he shaved his head, changed his 

clothes, and made himself unrecognizable. 

158 


The False Pearl 


Two days later he started for Bagdad, from there he 
went to Jerusalem and then on to Cairo, where he 
counted on selling me to the viceroy of Egypt, to- 
gether with the stolen pearl, as two rare and precious 
jewels. 


159 



XVI. Among the Robbers 




CHAPTER XVI 
AM DNG THE EOBBEES 

B ut the plan of the Mussulman failed, and he re- 
ceived the punishment he deserved for all his 
wickedness. 

As soon as he reached African soil he fell into the 
hands of thieves, who robbed him and left him half 
naked in the desert. As he had put me into a beauti- 
ful box with the pearl and other jewels, which he 
probably had also stolen, I was now in the hands of 
the African thieves. There were many of them, but 
they soon separated and went in different ways, and 
the first time I was taken from the box I saw only one 
man. He had a bronzed face and a gray beard and 
was dressed in a white mantle draped about his head. 

He turned me over and looked at me closely and 
was about to throw me away as a useless thing, when I 
decided it would be a good plan to make him under- 
stand that I was worth a little more than most toys, 

and that I deserved special consideration. 

163 


The Little Lead Soldier 


When he first heard me speak he was afraid, then 
little by little he realized that he could make money 
out of me as well as out of the jewels in the box, and 
after that he was immensely carei :1 of me. 

He made me talk every time he stopped to rest, and 
he wanted especially to have me describe the magnifi- 
cence of the courts I had visited, particularly the 
Chinese. 

He walked for days without stopping, and apparently 
without any planned direction, as though he were 
afraid of being followed and of being surprised. After 
many days we arrived at a forest full of magnificent 
trees ; the ground was covered by interlacing plants 
such as I had never seen before. Now I was indeed 
desperate. I suspected that my new master was not 
an honest person, and I knew nothing of him, not 
even his nationality. His fear of this solitude com- 
municated itself to me so that I also was afraid. Was 
I to be rescued from the bottom of the sea only to 
perish in an African forest? 

He walked on feverishly all day without resting, 
always hoping to find a village, a tribe of negroes who 

might understand him and put him on the right road. 

164 



HE WAS IMMENSELY CAREFUL OF ME 






Among the Robbers 

At night dreadful cries and screams could be heard, 
and he trembled with fear, and had scarcely strength 
to climb a tree to save himself from the wild beasts. 
Night passed to find him more anxious and afraid each 
day. One night, too tired to climb a tree, he re- 
membered that one way to protect oneself from wild 
beasts was to light a fire. So he gathered branches 
and dry leaves and started a fire big enough to last 
two hours while he slept. 

Around the circle of flame lions and tigers howled 
furiously and smaller animals hovered near, attracted 
by this light such as they had never seen before. The 
man ate the food he had in a bag and he was able to 
kill some birds and small animals like hare which he 
cooked up into food enough to last till he came to the 
end of the forest. But it would have been better for 
him if he had not left the forest, for here he fell into 
the hands of a savage tribe, perhaps the Galla, a wild 
people without religion. 

The miserable man was bound and put into a tent 
to await his sentence, which was put off, as the chiefs 
of the tribe were busy making preparations for war 

with neighboring tribes. Here he waited famishing, 
165 


The Little Lead Soldier 


while far off he could hear ferocious cries and agoniz- 
ing noises of battles which are not carried on by guns 
and cannon, as ours are, but are just as terrible. The 
women were as bloodthirsty as the men, and dragged 
off from the tribe many of the men as prisoners ; and 
among them was the unhappy possessor of my little 
person. 

My children, these scenes return to me many times. 
It would take too long to tell you of all the atrocious 
battles at which I was present. The tribe of savages 
lived by fighting and capture ; they cut off the heads 
of the men they conquered, and sometimes calmly ate 
the rest of the body. How many 
such horrible banquets I have seen I 
Here Tamburino became silent. It 
may be that he was overcome by the 
memory of all these horrors or that 
at present he could talk no more. 

But the children, although they 
meant to listen quietly, and never interrupt him, were 
too excited to keep still. 

“ Was your master also eaten ? ” 

“ And you ? 



i66 


Among the Robbers 

“ How were you saved ? *’ 

“ Tell us — be good.” 

So the little soldier began again. 

Once more 1 had the chance and the happiness to be 
useful to some one. After terrible fighting, passing 
from one victorious tribe to another from north to 
south, we fell into the hands of a tribe living on the 
shore of Lake Tchad. It was the most savage of all, 
and the most difficult of any to escape from. My 
possessor was tied to a tree and left all night, while 
they prepared him for slow torture. Then the idea 
occurred to me that I might save him from death and 
myself from an uncertain existence. So as soon as we 
were alone I began to speak to him. The man had 
been bound around the body and legs, but one hand 
remained free. With this he drew me from the little 
bag hidden under his coat so that he could hear me 
better and understand what I wanted. I told him 
to let me out and let me stay near him so that I 
could speak to the savages when they came to kill 
him. 

” But what shall you try to do ? ” 

” Leave that to me. I wish to make one last effort 
167 


The Little Lead Soldier 

to be saved. What men are these, and where are 
we?" 

" We are on the shore of Lake Tchad, in the midst 
of one of the worst tribes known." 

" All right ; we can deceive them more easily." 

“ But they can’t understand you." 

“ Never mind." 

“ May Allah protect you." 


i68 



XVII. Tamburino is Worshipped as a God 


♦ w 



CHAPTER XVII 

TAMBUEINO IS WOESHIPPED AS A GOD 
FTER a while the savage negroes came near 



armed with strange instruments. Just as they 


were about to seize the prisoner I cried with all my 
strength, in Arabic : 


“ Stop I " 


I could see they heard me, for they stopped as if un- 
certain, and listened. Then thinking they were mis- 
taken, they set to work again, but I cried again : 

“ Stop, or the curse of Allah be on you.” 

This time they heard distinctly, and they fled in 
great fear, not knowing where the voice came from. 

They poked out their heads from behind trees and 
cabins to see if they could make out where the hidden 


The Little Lead Soldier 

voice was. Although I could not make out what they 
said I could guess at the meaning from their voices and 
gestures. One of them, perhaps the chief, knew a few 
words of Arabic, probably taught him by some mis- 
sionary long ago killed and eaten. Finally, growing 
tired of waiting, he came out and demanded in 
Arabic : 

“ Who spoke ? ” 

And then they discovered it was I. 

This was my chance. I invented all sorts of un- 
earthly threats and told them it would be an unlucky 
day for them if they did not set their prisoner free. 
Imagine the fright of these primitive people. They 
picked me up and carried me in triumph. They 
called me the child of the sun and moon. They 
thought me a god come to earth to protect them. 
They made feasts and sacrifices for me, offering the 
most beautiful animals, and would have offered women 
and boys also if I had not told them I abhorred human 
blood, and no more must be spilled, or they would 
come into great misfortune. Then they danced about 
me by the light of torches or great fires, and finally, 

the prisoner being released, they treated him with 
172 


Tamburino is Worshipped as a God 

great honor as the favorite of a god, and they gave 
him presents of weapons and fruit, and two elephants’ 
tusks, which he could sell for a large sum of money as 
soon as he reached his own country. 

Now that we no longer had to fear for our lives we 
had to plan for our return. 

But how should we manage it? The neighboring 
tribe, the enemy of this one, heard of the little god 
descended to earth to protect the prisoner, and they all 
wanted to see and hear me. I was tired of them all, 
and so was my owner ; also he was anxious to get 
away, not feeling really safe among them. We dreaded 
the outbreak of war with the other tribe who wished 
to get possession of me. 

One morning, when the chief was alone absorbed in 
prayer before my small person I took courage and 
spoke to him thus : 

“ Listen, beloved son of the moon. I believe you 
worthy of confidence, and I wish a service of you 
which shall be paid by me so that I shall make you 
the chief of this tribe and it shall belong to you and 
your sons for centuries. But I have heard that far off 
in the north where the white men live another be- 

173 


The Little Lead Soldier 



loved son of the moon suffers atrocious agonies, and I 
must save him. I must go, and I ask of you that you 
furnish an escort for my faithful servant, whose duty 
it is to carry my Divine person, as far as the great 

desert, the country where we shall be safe. I promise 
174 


Tamburino is Worshipped as a God 

to return and protect you before the moon shall have 
hidden herself three times from the eye of his adorers.” 

The chief was perplexed, not knowing how to answer. 
He offered me all sorts of bribes if I would only give 
up my proposed journey. I tried to think of a way to 
convince him. So I said to him : 

” If I go it will be also for the good of your tribe. 
I who see everything know that a hostile tribe is 
planning to attack you and carry me off by force, and 
if they are successful all of you will be sacrificed. You 
know how I abhor human blood. If this catastrophe 
should happen I should be lost forever to you and 
yours.” 

He was now persuaded. He confided us to the care 
of one of his faithful men, who should accompany us 
as far as we thought best. 

We were saved 1 

I cannot describe the gratitude of my owner. He 
called down a thousand blessings upon me, and 
promised never to leave me until he could return me 
to the queen of Persia. 

Nevertheless this was the very man who sold me to 
your uncle. But he really meant his promise at the 

175 


The Little Lead Soldier 


time, for I believe he then adored me more than he 
did his prophet. I had certainly saved him from this 
fierce tribe by Lake Tchad. We traveled for days 
without trouble, for our guide knew how to escape 
every danger, and he was proud to be protecting the 
Son of the Moon. 

At the beginning of the desert of Sahara we left our 
guide, and after a while Ali — that was the name of 
my possessor — met a caravan of merchants, to whom he 
offered some jewels in exchange for food and camels. 
And so, riding a good camel, we were able at last to 
take the road to the north. 


176 


XVIII. 



The Desert on the Way to Algiers 












CHAPTER XVIII 

THE DESERT ON THE WAY TO ALGIERS 

O H, the long monotonous journey. The inter- 
minable way with no outlook but the yellow 
sky and heavy clouds, which can’t be distinguished 
from the sand. The always receding horizon, which 
seems further away every minute you walk. 

A long line of camels travels on and on, bearing 
merchandise and household goods on their backs, and 
cheered forward by the monotonous song of their 
drivers. 

Sometimes the unfortunate travelers are seized with 
uncontrollable thirst ; such is their desire for a refresh- 
ing drink that they run toward an oasis as soon as they 
see it, but the more they run toward it the more the 

promising spot recedes before them. This is the effect 
179 


The Little Lead Soldier 


of the mirage, and their disappointment makes their 
agonies of thirst harder to bear. 

But the caravan with which we traveled was for- 
tunate enough to come to several real oases, which 
might be described as islands in a sea of sand. Here 
palms are growing, for there is a spring, and here 
travelers rest and renew their supply of water. 

The men of the caravan were honest and kind and 
treated Ali like a brother. 

At the boundary of Algiers they separated, and each 
took a different direction, having business in various 
countries. Ali went into Algiers. He hid me away, 
and took the best of care of me. He never talked to 
me any more, but I believed his idea was to take me 
back to Queen Badoure ; and since I had been the 
means of saving his life he would not have sold me at 
any price. 

Many months passed. He had sold to a French 
jeweler for a great price the pearl he had stolen from 
the Mussulman merchant, but as he had lost the 
goods he had bought with that money he was still 
very poor. 

One day as he was complaining bitterly that he had 
i8o 


The Desert on the Way to Algiers 

nothing to eat 1 advised him to part with me, but not 
to sell me to a cruel boy who would treat me badly. I 
said 1 should gladly return to Europe, and the thought 
almost made me cry. 

“ Really,” I said, ” I am almost old, and I feel the 
need to rest after all the adventures of my hard life.” 

He was thoughtful for a while, then he thanked me 
and swore he would never sell me except to some one 
he knew well ; and he would take less than I was 
worth if he could only be certain that I would have 
no more suffering. And soon the opportunity came. 
This is how it happened that he sold me to your 
uncle. And he in his turn told me that you were fine 
children, and would always take care of me. 

And now I have come to the end of my long story 
about my adventures in countries unknown to you. I 
have had an exciting life, but I have had chances to 
be useful in my small way, and I believe every one 
can be, no matter how little he is, if he wishes to and 
tries hard. 

Although I am nothing but a piece of lead many 
people have loved me, and I feel my turn has come at 

i8i 


The Little Lead Soldier 


last to rest in peace for the rest of my life with you, 
my dear friends. 

There are still a few things I often think I should 
like to know. Did my good Renato die at the Pole or 
did he come back triumphant ? Does Ivan still sail the 
Pacific Ocean, and does the queen of Persia still care 
for me and hope to find me ? 


182 



XIX. Conclusion 



CHAPTER XIX 
CONCLUSION 


INO and Lena had become very fond of the 



little soldier, who had shown himself so kind 


and so intelligent, and after they had listened to him 
quietly for many evenings they begged their father to 
find out something about the people he had cared so 
much for. 

After a while he was able to trace Renato, and he 
found he had not reached the Pole, but he was per- 
fectly cured of the wound he had received from the 
bear. He had returned from his journeys and ad- 
ventures and after a while had written a book that had 
brought him fame and money. After that he had 
married a lady he had known all his life, and they 
lived far from France. 

Ivan, they heard, had become captain of a fishing 
vessel, and had made trips to the north of Europe. 
He had married the sister of Rink, whom he loved so 
much. 


1^5 


The Little Lead Soldier 


As to the queen of Persia, they could get no news of 
her, but Nino promised, as soon as he was grown up, 
to go to Teheran and find her. 

I can’t say how true it is, but I was told that Nino 
became a great traveler, and that he carried Tam- 
burino to Persia with him. And as by that time he 
was a person of great importance he was given an 
audience by the queen, and had a chance to present 
the little soldier. There Tamburino was honored and 
feted. But when he was asked if he would stay at the 
Persian court he chose to finish his days with Nino 
and Lena, because he said they had taken better care 
of him that any one else, and had loved him more 














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